Drunk Mums should play a gig with Mum Smokes, even if it’s only to drive Andrew Bolt to express his profound disdain for the irreverent discourse of rock n’roll. They’ve got haircuts like my favourite SANFL footballers from the ’80s; they play music like a suburban incarnation of the Black Lips. It’s replete with three chord wonders and almost instant classics; in an ideal world, Drunk Mums could be everyone’s next favourite local rock’n’roll band.
Rumour has it that Seiji sleeps in his sunglasses and leather attire, such is his all-encompassing embrace of the rock’n’roll aesthetic. He appears onstage and exhorts the crowd to join in a call-and-response monosyllabic chant; the crowd overcomes the typical Melbourne enigmatic diffidence, and Guitar Wolf is officially on message.
Toru – aka Drum Wolf – has the tattoo illustrations of a man raised in a culture where skin design has genuine sociological meaning. Bass (UG) Wolf’s presence in the band is a subtle reminder of the mortality that lies at the end of a life in rock’n’roll – eight years ago, his predecessor, Billy, died after suffering a massive heart attack.
The music is ‘dumb’ rock’n’roll: Eddie Cochrane via The Ramones with spiritual advice from The Saints. Riffs, licks and songs segue seamlessly, with ne’er a break to gather breath.
You get the feeling Seiji will literally rock ’til he drops, and that every gig is played as if it could be the last night on Earth. Sweat pours down his face, and in every sneer and shout can be seen evidence of passion, and maybe just a hint of insanity.
But for all of that it’s not quite the unbridled Guitar Wolf attack of yore. The first set barely scrapes in at 45 minutes, and the encore is over before 12.30am. Seiji, Toru and UG push through the crowd and out on the street, where they exchange high-fives and cries of satisfaction like a well-oiled team that’s defended its world championship for the 150th time. Perhaps incongruously, they load their gear into a white Japanese hatchback – arguably, as un-rock’n’roll a car as you could hope to experience – and prepare to leave. Guitar Wolf is a beast: a rock’n’roll beast.
BY PATRICK EMERY
Loved: Seiji’s passion for the cause.
Hated: The absence of psychotic noise.
Drank: Mountain Goat.
