Artists seem to avoid Australia like we have a plague of drop bears, but not Mr. 13 who has now been to our little island three times within the last two years. Granted one time was with the Murderdolls but this is nevertheless a fair effort and one that was appreciated by the capacity crowd in the Gershwin room. The fact that Halloween is later this week couldn’t have hurt peoples’ excitement as the Espy seemed to be packed with an assortment of freaks, geeks and goblins well before doors were opened.
The gothed up Darkc3ll proved themselves to be an appropriate choice for Wednesday 13’s entourage. Each member engaged the crowd with heaps of enthusiasm, a gesture which was returned. Their catchy, heavy, synth soaked tunes sound like a hybrid of Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson from before he got fat. Particularly impressive was their cover of Nine Inch Nail’s Head Like a Hole, a song which they have truly made their own.
After a small break, it was time. Wednesday 13 and his band burst onto the stage like the infected from 28 Days Later and hit the room with a choice selection of cheesy horror. Tracks played were limited to his four solo albums and included Rot For Me, Calling All Corpses, and Gimmie Gimmie Bloodshed. Only occasionally stopping to talk ensured they could fit a solid 16 songs into the the set time before encore. His hired guns are flawless, never missing a beat and adding their own entertaining elements to the show. Till Death Do Us Party was particularly well received, as was I Walked With a Zombie which was the closing song for the set.
Or was it? Like any good horror series, there is always a more ridiculous sequel. Wielding an assault rifle, Wednesday stormed back to lead everyone in a homage to Rambo, unsurprisingly called RAMBO. Next up was I Love to Say Fuck, which many then did as the night came to a close with the band wishing Bad Things upon their fans.
BY OSCAR SCHIESSER
LOVED: Cheesy B-Grade song names.
HATED: Morning after deafness.
DRANK: Southern Comfort.
