Fresh off the back of a Last Dinosaurs support tour, Palms are a great opener. Their effortlessly cool garage pop punk has no problem getting a few bodies moving. The big ones from the first album are still the winners for me, but Beatdown is an earworm.
As the lights go down and The Smith Street Band’s Young Drunk comes over the speakers, the excited crowd is already singing along. Violent Soho walk on to a huge applause and abruptly kick into latest single Like Soda. The catchy hook heavy tune is already firm in the hearts and minds of the Soho mob, who chant every word with gusto. From then on, it’s pretty much just banger after banger.
The only song that doesn’t quite translate to the live setting is Fur Eyes. The more subtly plucked guitar lines fell by the wayside a bit in a sweaty venue late on a Saturday night. That is literally the only half criticism I could possibly find about the show. Oh and the bastards don’t play Muscle Junkie. But they do play Love is a Heavy Word and Jesus Stole My Girlfriend, which have no trouble keeping up with the new tracks. The three new songs played pick up exactly where Hungry Ghost left off. Although some melodies are hard to distinguish given the setting and nature of the gig, they’re still fucking great. The crowd doesn’t seem to mind, legs and arms flailing till stumps.
It was a treat of a gig, considering they probably could’ve played ten consecutive shows there if they wanted.
BY HANK MARDOUKAS
Photo by Ian Laidlaw
Loved: Newbies.
Hated: Meth’d up dickhead trying to fight everyone.
Drank: Attempted two pints, lost them both.
