Saturday night saw Van Dieman Land lords Luca Brasiflood the Ding Dong Lounge with their loyal, tattooed, denim-wearing fan base and Jawbreaker-esque punk rock tracks for their Get Sad, See Mates east coast tour. Sporting their Tasmanian origin like a badge of honour, Luca Brasi have gained a well-deserved status as one of Tassie’s punk rock/musical icons, and seeing them push Ding Dong’s 420-person capacity room to its brink was a testament to their ever-growing legendary presence on the mainland.
Tigers were the first band on the bill. As one of Melbourne’s punk rock assets, they certainly proved their worth in talent and value throughout the course of their set on the night. It can be pretty tough to open a show, but the band made sure to create a vibe from the first chord to the last. As their set pushed on and more people starting filling out the venue, they had a healthy crowd hanging off their every word and digging their fast and melodic punk rock tunes.
Next up were Initials, who quickly captured the audience with their dark post-punk tunes. As a regular punter to punk rock shows in Melbourne, I’ve grown quite familiar to this band and can honestly say that this was one of the best times I’ve seen them perform. The sound was powerful, they played tightly and the command and technique of their much-loved drummer Adam Collins left everyone in awe of his skill and presence as one of the best punk rock drummers in Melbourne.
By this stage in the night, the venue was packed and the people were ready for the attack of guitar-laden emotional punk rock anthems that Luca Brasi were about to play. While many people may know the band for their most cherished and popular track, Theme Song From HQ, anyone who has seen or heard of this band will know that they’re no one-hit wonder. From the word go, they had the room in the palm of their hands and weren’t without their section of screaming, stage-diving, shoe-drinking fans at the front of the stage who were singing along to every word of every track as if it was their favourite song of all time. The guitar work of handsome boy Tom Busby was effortlessly flawless as he shredded in his trademark style which is somewhat reminiscent of J Mascis, but has made it his own, distinct technique. Front man Tyler Richardson proved his kind and humble nature multiple times within the show by expressing his true appreciation of the support from their fans in between nailing his catchy vocal lines and slaying the bass guitar like a the bloody champion he is. After a zillion stage dives and drinks from shoes, the band closed their set and the night moved into a blur of fruity cocktails and hazy memories.
BY CHAD SEXINGTON
Loved: Busby’s guitar work.
Hated: Guitar pedal kicking stage divers.
Drank: Out of my shoe.
