The second of three sold-out Forum shows for Violent Soho’s Waco tour delivered an incredible lineup of punk-inflected Australian rock, with DZ Deathrays and Dune Rats also on the lineup.
And then there was opening support act, Newcastle’s The Gooch Palms, who kicked things off at 7.30pm. Though, their melodic 1960s surf rock throwback didn’t elicit much of a reaction from the small yet building crowd.
This tepid opening was rectified at 8.20pm as the stage lights began to flash in time with Limp Bizkit’s Rollin’. Dune Rats’ Danny Beusa, BC Michaels, and Brett Jansch then swaggered onstage, inciting the rabid mob now swarming in front of stage. As Dune Rats ripped into Fuck It and the swarm heaved into a flowing mosh, it dawned on us that while the band isn’t that heavy, these three mates who love rock’n’roll, smashing tinnies and smoking bongs hold a mirror up to the skate-shoe wearing punters who love cutting sick in the pit. Dune Rats are on the rise, confirmed by the rapturous response to their final song and latest single Bullshit. The audience sang the opening line, “Everything you say is bullshit and everything you do is so sick, bullshit”, with such fervour that it almost drowned out Beusa’s voice.
As the defiantly distorted guitar of DZ Deathrays’ Shane Parson rang through the grand theatre, the band locked into the chorus of Less Out Of Sync, causing the room to fully erupt for the first time. The moshpit heaved awkwardly in time with the music, creating an unintentional visual companion to Shane Parson’s lyrics, “Get us less out of sync.”
The full stage lighting came on during the break and the stage was reset for Violent Soho. The drum riser came out and so did the big amps, while the DZ Deathrays backdrop was replaced with a sheet that featured the Waco album cover. Soon the lights went down again and the four friends who met at school in the ‘90s – Luke Boerdam (guitar and vocals), James Tidswell (guitar), Luke Henery (drums) and Michael Richard (bass) – walked to their instruments and began to play.
Opening with How To Taste, it was immediately obvious that despite only coming out in March, Violent Soho fans have lapped up the new album. For the rest of set, the crowd yelled the lyrics of each song at full volume – the audience participation for the penultimate song, Like Soda, was positively deafening. Since returning from overseas in 2010 and punking up their sound – and losing a lot of the ‘90s Nirvana-like cliché – Violent Soho have become a very important Australian rock band whose identity and aesthetic is tightly linked to their place of origin.
The set suitably closed with the song that thrust Violent Soho into the playlists of every Australian under 25, Covered In Chrome. There was a glorious and spectacular unity as all in attendance worshipped this final hymn at Violent Soho’s church of rock’n’roll.
BY DAN WATT
Loved: Realising that while being good on record, Dope Calypso is sick live.
Hated: Nothing.
Drank: A swimming pool.
