Gig Lists - 2005

Last updated January 2008

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January

178. THE FERGUSONS & RED JEZEBEL
The Fergusons Final Show Ever @ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Saturday January 15th, 2005

This gig was the final show for The Fergusons. The Amplifier was packed for the gig and The Fergies put on a stellar performance. The band's new, unreleased songs sounded particularly good on the night, as I wrote on Perthbands at the time:

"I thought that the band put on a very good show last night. They played a good mix of old and new songs. It's a pity they've broken up because their new songs kick ass."

The band's set on the evening comprised:
01. EF
02. Waste Of Time
03. Matador
04. Die
05. Trouble
06. Grant Starts
07. Bikini
08. Caps Along The Way
09. Bulletin
10. Everything's Gone Bad
11. Heavy Machinery
12. Sad Simone
13. El President
encore
14. Hotel
15. Sinner Is Red
16. Never Better

179. JEBEDIAH
Australia Day Celebrations @ Langley Park, Wednesday January 26th, 2005

After watching Shaun of the Dead at my house in Kensington, I somehow convinced Duceman and Jo to make the long walk all the way to Langley Park, on the other side of the river, to watch Jebediah play for free. It took us about 50 minutes to walk there. The crowd at the gig was young and energetic and the kids jumped around enthusiastically for most of the set, particularly to Fall Down. Duce and Jo provided me with much entertainment by drunkenly screaming the lyrics to Harpoon at the top of their voices when it was played.

Jebediah's set on the day was (again thanks to Millhouse): No sleep, Military strongmen, First time, Animal, Please leave, More alone, Teflon, It's over, Feet touch the ground, Harpoon, Fall down, Leaving home.

February

180. BIG DAY OUT 2005
@ Claremont Showgrounds, Sunday February 6th, 2005

This goes down as being easily crappiest Big Day Out I have ever attended.

I arrived in time to see Frenzal Rhomb open proceedings to a rather large crowd. Frenzal were arguably the best band of the day. They were very energetic, sounded good, hung shit on John Butler, and Dr Lindermans even made wearing a pink t-shirt look cool. Following Frenzal I saw a bit of The Flairz on the small stage. Considering the band members were eleven years old their level of musicianship was pretty amazing. In addition to their original songs the Flairz played AC/DC and Ramones covers.

I was looking forward to seeing the Mess Hall play but I found them to be a bit dull on the day. However, they were significantly better than Wolfmother who bored me shitless. I thought their songs were derivative and uninteresting and that the band had no stage presence (besides a guy in a cape who introduced their set). As a result I headed over to get a good spot at the main stage for Spiderbait. In the process I caught the last few songs of Eskimo Joe's set. The crowd lapped up big Eskimo Joe singles Wake Up and From the Sea - especially the latter tune. The amount of singing along and jumping up and down going on was pretty incredible. Spiderbait sounded pretty good and got the crowd dancing and singing along but I found their setlist to be pretty boring and predictable (Shazam, Take Me Back, Cows, Pack It Up, Outta My Head, Tonite, Fuckin Awesome, Old Man Sam, Calypso, Buy Me A Pony, Black Betty). Drummer Kram's banter with the festival crowd was also pretty annoying. Kram is a smart, funny dude so I found it a bit a frustrating that the only things coming out of his mouth were, "Hell yeah!", "Yeah yeah", "Fuck yeah" and "You guys really make my day."

Next I caught the latter half of Jebediah's set. It was good to see the band play some non-singles such as Run of the Company. However like most of the bands on the day Jebediah failed to really hold my attention. It was more interesting watching the industry folk on the side of the stage than the band (Eskimo Kav and his new girlfriend were very excited when Leaving Home was played). I saw the first few songs of Little Birdy's set before exiting for food, beverages and CD shopping. I managed to find the rare first pressing of Spiderbait's Spanish Galleon album (complete with bonus live disc) for a very reasonable $20.

Eventually I ventured back to the small stage to watch Le Tigre. Like Wolfmother, Le Tigre unfortunately shat me to tears. I know they are a feminist band, but Kathleen Hannah's constant ranting about it onstage got really tedious after a while. Hence I left and went to see The Volcanics play on the local stage. It was interesting seeing the Volcanics out of a pub environment. The band adapted to the situation with ease, frontman John Phatouros in particular used the stage very well. The Volcanics were one of my favourite bands of the day (and one of the loudest).

Next came the unexpected highlight of the day.. the Crusty Demons Freestyle Motocross Demo. Three dudes on motorbikes doing insane jumps just metres from me. You have got to see this stuff to believe it. The Crusty Demon's provided me with more entertainment than any of the bands that played! While all this motorcross action was going on Grinspoon were playing in the background, but I didn't pay much attention to them, except the end of their set when they played Champion and Black Friday. I watched Slipknot from a distance. The band started off pretty energetically and were interesting to watch at the start, but they soon went off the boil as their set degenerated into a "motherfucker, motherfucker, motherfucker" fest. The Streets were equally disappointing, albeit for different reasons - their crowd was massive, which meant getting near the stage impossible. Also, Mike Skinner was boring - there might as well have been a CD playing on stage. That said, I only caught a little of The Streets' set - maybe I should have stuck around for longer? Back on the main stage System of a Down were pretty good. Pogo! Pogo! Pogo! Following SOAD, I caught the opening couple of tracks in Powderfinger's set before heading back to the small stages, where I saw Butterfingers wrap up their set. This signaled the arrival of the (John Spencer) Blues Explosion on the green stage. The Blues Explosion were very loud compared to Butterfingers. The first song was pretty good and what followed was ok, but I wasn't blown away. After witnessing Spencer's blistering performance on Recovery many years ago, I was surprised by his relative lack of energy on stage at the BDO. By midway through the Blues Explosion's set my BDO-partner-in-crime-Josafiend had severe ear problems. She was in really bad pain, because of inflammation in her ears. Given Jo's pain and the fact that there was about a 90 minute wait until the only other band we were interested in (Regurgitator) were on, we decided to leave. It was the right decision on the day but a bit disappointing in retrospect because apparently the 'Gurge played a killer set.

After the BDO I wrote on perthbands:

This was the first BDO in the six that I have attended that I think was a waste of cash. No band stood out on for me on the day. Over the last few years bands like The Flaming Lips, The Darkness, The Murderdolls and the Hard Ons have surprised me with incredible sets at the BDO, but this year the bands that I hadn't seen before (eg, LeTigre, The Streets, etc) were pretty boring or annoying, and the bands I had seen before (eg Spiderbait, The Mess Hall) were ok, but far from spectacular. Frenzal Rhomb were probably the band that I enjoyed the most. The highlight of the day turned out to be the Crusty Demons Motorcross demo. Holey Shit! I agree that the Boiler Room was a catastrophe. I didn't see it at the end, but at about 7pm I was trying to go past the boiler room to get through to the local stage to see the Panda Band, and I couldn't as it was already so congested. Next year I am going to think really hard before I get a BDO ticket.

Big Day Out review, X-Press, Feb 2005

181. MY DISCO, SNOWMAN & TRASH BAND 1987
@ Hyde Park Hotel, Saturday February 12th, 2005

I arrived at this show in time to catch Trash Band 1987. Duceman liked them, but I found them boring as batshit. Apart from the lead singer, the band looked bored the whole time that they were on "stage". The bass player looked so unhappy she could have been at a funeral. You are playing before an audience girls, you should be enthusiastic about this! As far as Trash Band's actual music was concerned, it reminded me of all the boring parts of Sonic Youth's bad records.

By the end of Trash Band's set Trippo rocked up. Neither Duceman or I had seen him for ages so we spent most of the next hour catching up with him. This meant that I missed most of Snowman's set. Well, I listened to them, but I couldn't see them play because I was out the back of the Hydey talking. However, I got a prime position up the front of the crowd for Melbourne band My Disco, who were awesome. My Disco were basically the complete opposite of Trash Band 1987. They were super tight, loud, and really excited about playing their music, especially their guitarist, who looked like he was having a convulsive fit for most of the set. I wasn't a massive fan of the vocals, but they were bearable, and the band's instrumentation was so good that it made up for the aspects of the singing that I didn't like. My Disco reminded me of why I like going to see bands. They were lots of fun.

On perthbands I wrote:

My Disco were awesome! Brutal and super tight. I'm very happy Duceman encouraged me to go and see them. The same praise I can't give to Trash Band 1987. Outside of the main singer, the band looked bored shitless - like they were playing at a funeral rather than to an AUDIENCE at a gig. Get some fucking enthusiasm. Plus their music was mostly boring as batshit. But yeah, My Disco rocked my socks.

March

182. TUCKER Bs, KILL DEVIL HILLS, THE TIGERS & THE WEDNESDAY SOCIETY
Tucker B's Last Show Before They Move To Sydney @ Amplifier Bar, Saturday March 5th, 2005

and

183. SLUNK & TRAGIC DELICATE
Smashing Pumpkins Tribute Night @ Monkey Bar, Saturday March 5th, 2005

The night before these gigs took place Mudhoney were playing at the Rosemount. I wanted to go, but Mudhoney tickets cost $46 which was more than I could afford (I am a poor student after all). This sucked because from all accounts the Mudhoney show was amazing. Anyhow, I had to settle for attending two gigs on the following night - the Tucker B's farewell show in the Amplifier, and the Smashing Pumpkins Tribute Night next door in the Monkey Bar. The first band I saw was The Wednesday Society, the members' of which were all dressed in suits on stage. I thought this looked quite cool on the night but Duceman thought that they were pigeonholing themselves. He heckled the band about it. e.g., yelling out, "Hey Brendan, where can I get a good suit?" between songs. The band has since ditched the suits. The Wednesday Society had a lot of stage presence at this gig, especially the bass player who was gyrating around on stage pretty wildly. The band looked genuinely excited to be on stage (unlike, say, Trash Band 1987). As far as the songs went the first and last ones that the band played were noticeable catchy (especially the last one... don't know the title sorry), but there was a bit of filler in the middle of the set.

The Tigers were on next. I was warned before their set that they were boring, and they lived up to their reputation.

Wanno and myself then headed next door to watch a bit of the Smashing Pumpkins Tribute Night. Tragic Delicate were onstage when we entered the room. They played a couple of originals before launching into a cover of Disarm. A couple of Tragic Delicate's members then jumped off stage and a couple of random dudes jumped on and launched into stellar version of Where Boys Fear To Tread and Quiet. The vocalist for these songs had an uncanny similarity to Billy Corgan... he sounded really awesome.

Wanno and I then returned to the Amps where a sizeable crowd watching the Kill Devil Hills, who were very impressive. Then it was back to the Monkey Bar where Pumpkins tribute band Slunk (named after a b-side on the Lull EP) had just started their set. Slunk's musicianship was excellent, especially drummer Russ who pounded his kit like a motherfucker. However, the band's vocals let them down. The singer (I think he was from the Wire Complex) had lots of enthusiasm and an excellent voice - but it was a voice that didn't suit the band he was fronting at this gig. As a tribute band Slunk were always going to be compared to the Smashing Pumpkins. While the rest of the band pumped out note-perfect Pumpkins covers, the vocals sounded completely wrong. The juxtaposition of prefect instrumentation but odd vocals was pretty off putting. Despite my winging Slunk played some killer tracks, especially Machina 2's Glass Theme and Cash Car Star. I left about 2/3 of the way through the band's set so that I could duck back to the Amplifier and watch the Tucker Bs. As a result I missed all the action in the Monkey Bar. Apparently the PA blew up, caught on fire, and Slunk were unable to finish their set!

I found the Tucker Bs to be much more enjoyable at this show than the few times I'd seen them previously. The band dressed up in silly, religious-esque attire for their set. They even had headbands with red L.E.D. lights on them. I love the Tucker B's loud, violent moments - especially the sound of their bass. Unfortunately they mix this up with slow, noodley bits that I tend to find a bit boring. Fortunately for me the Tucker's were in 'rock mode' for most of this set, which kept me happy.

184. SNOWMAN & DAY OF THE DEAD
Snowman Amps Residency Week 1, Thursday March 26th, 2005

The first band I saw at this gig was Day of the Dead. They were pretty entertaining, but would be better if they got a vocalist.

Snowman. They played a terrific show. Standing out in the set was a new song with a whole lot of "Cha Cha Chas" in it. It was surprisingly to the point (for Snowman) and very accessible. The only disappointing part of Snowman's set is that they didn't play Zombies on the Airwaves of Paris.

There were a lot of people at this gig, especially for a Thursday. Snowman in particular had a large crowd watching them. I remember thinking on the night that the band wouldn't be playing venues the size of the Amplifier for much longer.

April

Nothing to report.

May

185. HEAD FILLED ATTRACTION & SUBTRUCK
HFA Farewell Show @ Black Bettys, Friday May 6th, 2005

This was only my fourth night out seeing bands in five months. It was Archfiend's second, and the first at which she could actually watch the bands with only a little bit of ear pain.

I wrote about the night quite extensively at the time on Perthbands:

Subtruck were awesome last Friday. I've had little interest in going to see bands this year, and I hadn't been to a gig for about two months until last Friday. However as soon as I walked into Black Betty's and heard Subtruck, I was instantly excited and remembered why I like going to see bands. The Ballbearing tracks were awesome, and Get thee a Helment was a nice surprise, but the highlight of the set for me was the new song Subtruck played (I think it's called Detroit). It was really fast and punky, especially by Subtruck standards. I can't wait to hear some more new songs given the quality of that one.

One other thing - Subtruck sounded absolutely HUGE despite the fact I was using earplugs. Usually the earplugs can make vocals a little hard to decipher and the music "less powerful", (I've even experienced this watching Subtruck at Amps), but this didn't happen on Friday. The mix was awesome... everything, especially the vocals were really crystal clear. Subtruck's set easily sounded the best of any band I've seen since I've been using these earplugs.

Anyhow, awesome stuff Subtruck, keep it up! I listened to all of your CDs the day after the gig.

Archfiend wrote:

I'd just like to say thanks Subtruck. You never let me down. Tonight I had to visit the funk club in Leederville - to see off a friend... I thought my ears would be 'tainted' for a week or so, but thanks to Subtruck, I am now whole and rockin again like a mothertrucker. Thankyou good sirs.

XXX. MAGIC DIRT @ Amplifier, Saturday May 28th 2005

I went along to this gig but it had sold out by the time I got there (and I didn't get there that late either).

Magic Dirt were sure impressed by Snowman on their WA tour. Adalita wrote on the Magic Dirt tour diary:

The support band for the night was Snowman, who we'd never seen before but heard their CD and loved it. So when they actually played we were completely blown away. Our jaws were literally on the ground. They're a four piece and it's like cross between surf music, The Cramps, Talking Heads, Blondie and Jon Spencer. It was soooooo amazing. You've GOT to see them. Hopefully we can bring them over to the east coast.

June

186. KARNIVOOL & MR SANDMAN
Curtin Uni End of Semester Bash, Friday June 3rd, 2005

Mr Sandman were pretty entertaining this particular afternoon. Archfiend then came down and we were going to check out Karnivool's set, but her ears started to bleed after a couple of songs so we left.

N.B. By bleeding I mean "become very painful." This was not due to the quality of the music but an ear infection!

187. THE VOLCANICS, FOURSTROKE & THE M16S
Light the Fuse CD Launch @ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Saturday June 4th, 2005

This gig celebrated the launch of the Light the Fuse CD. The CD features the M16s, the Volcanics and Fourstroke covering classic songs by old Perth bands such as The Bamboos and The Victims, as well as a number of original tunes. I went along to the gig with Matt. I got in for free because I was doing some filming at the show for the lovely folks at Out of the Loop Records.

The M16s were pretty impressive. Between the last time I saw the M16s and this show they'd picked up an extra guitarist. It made a big difference to their sound. They were a lot "fuller" - which I suppose is what the aim of getting a rhythm guitarist was! There was also less 10 minute Ken Watt guitar solos. The M16s played a couple of covers. One was a killer take on a Kryptonics song. The other was a very dodgy rendition of Television Addict with James Baker playing drums.

Fourstroke were pretty awesome. They had a new drummer in Greg from Jed Whitey. He looked a bit like Nick Oliveri and pounded his kit like a motherfucker.

The Volcanics set was eventful. I was standing under John Phatouros the singer filming, trying to follow the action. During one song Phatouros suddenly picked up the microphone stand and I got hit in the head with it. At the time I thought that Phatouros had hit me deliberately and I wasn't sure why (I didn't get smashed, but received more than a friendly tap). I thought it was very unprofessional and I was pretty pissed because it hurt, not to mentioned that I'd been doing the band a favour by filming them! As a result of thinking I'd been deliberately whacked in the head for no good reason I had no interest in going to see the Volcanics for a long time after this gig. However I later got an apology from the band and discovered that I didn't get deliberately hit with the mic stand! The Volcanics go pretty hard on stage and didn't actually realise what had happened at the time - only when they read about it here. I'd like to thank them for saying sorry and also apologise for my part in the misunderstanding. Now I can happily go and watch them rock again!

I should note that at the end of the Light the Fuse launch Greg Hitchcock (The Bamboos, You Am I, The Monarchs) got on stage to play a couple of old songs with the Volcanics, and musically they were the highlight of the night.

Fourstroke / The Volcanics / M16s live review, Light the Fuse CD Launch, X-Press, June 2005

188. SUBTRUCK
@ Rosemount Hotel, Friday June 10th, 2005

This show happened on my birthday. The weather was lousy and there weren't many people at the the Rosemount. I also started exams a couple of days after the gig, so it was a bad time for a birthday celebration.

Subtruck debuted a couple of new songs at this gig. Joey K sang one of them. I had lots of fun watching the band and thankfully Jo's ears held out for their set.

Subtruck were awesome as per usual. They always put in 110% effort on stage. They mixed their set around a bit last night which was cool as well.

189. THE GRATES, THE FUZZ & THE FREUDIAN SLIPS
@ Amplifier Bar, Thursday June 30th, 2005

This show - The Grates' first in Perth - was lots of fun. Actually, it was lots of fun except for The Freudian Slips, who bored me shitless. The Fuzz were energetic on stage and played a new song called Palsonic. However it was The Grates' night. They were excellent. I got a big surprise when Patience came out and started leaping around like a maniac. She is definitely most genuinely happy person I've ever seen on stage. She was also very impressed with Abbe Fuzz, announcing to the crowd, "How cute was that girl from the Fuzz!?!"

July

190. JEBEDIAH
10 Year Anniversary Show @ Rosemount Hotel, North Perth, Saturday July 2nd, 2005

I only got down to this show at the last minute, just in time to see Jebediah. The band was on its 10 Year Anniversary Tour and they pulled out a bunch of wonderful rarities.

This is what they played:

1 Tracksuit
2 It's Over
3 Clint
4 Look That Way
5 No Sleep
6 The Less Trusted Pain Remover
7 You
8 First Time
9 Run Of The Company
10 Patty Powell
11 More Alone
12 Fall Down
13 I Ran
14 Lino

ENCORE
15 Nothing Lasts Forever (Kevin Solo)
16 Ferris Wheel
17 Skin
18 Animal
19 Harpoon
20 Bosco

After the gig I wrote:

It was great. You and Skin were my personal favourites"

I was thinking about going along the next night to the High Road Hotel to see the band again. It didn't end up happening, which is a pity because at that show they played Sorry and Simple (two of my very favourite b-sides) plus Superhero 6.5 and Benedict!

191. HARD ONS & THE FUZZ
Hard Ons 21st Birthday Tour @ Amplifier Bar, Friday July 8th, 2005

The press release for this show read:

"t's late 2003, and Norwegian homo-supremacists Turbonegro are headed towards Australia for their first ever tour. And on whom should the honour of supporting this legendary band fall on but Sydney's the Hard-Ons, riding high on the success of their ‘Very Exciting!' album. But the connection between these bands runs deeper than a few obvious musical similarities: Turbonegro are huge Hard-Ons fans. Snappily-dressed guitarist Pål Pot Pamparius used to send them fanmail, and bassist Happy Tom was so into them so that for two months straight in 1987 he listened to nothing but The Hard-Ons. This shouldn't come as a surprise, however. The Hard-Ons can proudly name Mike Patton, Dave Grohl and Dennis Lyxzen among their many fans. Not to mention John Stanier and Page Hamilton from Helmet, ex-QOTSA member Nick Oliveri, Tom Gabriel Fischer of Celtic Frost, The Damned's Captain Sensible , At The Gates/The Crown/Nightrage/Disfear frontman Tomas Lindberg (who also used to play in a Hard-Ons cover band with Ludwig from The (International) Noise Conpspiracy), Pan Sonic's Ilpo Väisänen , Tim Armstrong from Rancid, The Distillers frontwoman Brody Dalle and pop singer Kate Ceberano. In 1992, Ray, Blackie and Keish teamed up with über-fan Henry Rollins for a run of shows together as part of that year's Big Day Out sharing headline billing with Violent Femmes, Nirvana & Ratcat. The tour was perfect to promote their version of ‘Let There Be Rock', with Hank doing his best Bon Scott while the band tackled AC/DC's signature tune in a typically irreverent fashion, which they recorded together in 1990 after the Hard-Ons supported Rollins Band on their first Australian tour in 1989. Malcolm Young gave the version the stamp of approval. At the Big Day Out the following year, The Hard-Ons were joined by Poison Idea's Jerry A on guest vocals: Jerry had been a huge fan of the band and was actually one of the first people to send The Hard-Ons fanmail. And if The Hard-Ons hadn't broken up in 1995, this “guest vocalist” thing may have continued with none other than Jello Biafra taking the mic. All this (and much, much more besides) from three guys who met at high school in Punchbowl, gave their band the most obnoxious name their then fifteen-year-old minds could think of, who have never been signed to a major label nor tasted the forbidden fruit of commercial success (at least, not in their homeland). Who can play to 28 payers at a pub in Ryde one week, and headline a sold-out London Astoria the next. And all the while, despite 17 consecutive #1's on the Australian Alternative charts and impressive alterantive chart positions around the world, commercial success always managed to elude them.

And now, in 2005, The Hard-Ons turn 21. Time to break out the baby photos and tell embarrassing stories. Or, failing that, to embark on a nationwide tour that reunites them with original member Keish (who quit the band several years ago and was replaced by Pete Kostic of Front End Loader and Regurgitator fame) who will be joining the band onstage to perform a few of their “hits”. Keish will be joining the current line up, seeing the Hard-Ons perform as a 4-piece at all shows.

“We hate nostalgia,” says bassist Ray Ahn, “but we just wanna part ways with the old Hard-Ons in a fun way, do something that is once and once only just for fun.”

And what could be more fun than sharing in the 21 st birthday celebrations of Australia 's best punk band?

I was pretty excited about this show. I hadn't seem Keish play with the Hard Ons, so the night was bound to be a bit special. The band played a ripper set. For the first 15 minutes or so Blackie/Ray/Pete played mostly new songs, and then Keish came on stage and they launched into a heap of old classics such as Raining, Suck n Swallow and Where Did She Come From? Keish was totally awesome - he had the crowd in the palm of his hand the whole time he was on stage. Speaking of the crowd, the room was pretty packed and most people were in a jovial mood. There was a lot of stage diving going on, by both the band and punters. The only disappointing part of the set was that it seemed a bit short. The main set was only about 40 minutes long. The band returned and played three encores which took the total playing time to about an hour... however the Hard Ons are so legendary and have such a big back catalogue it would have been cool to see them play for a bit longer. It was an intense hour though, so I can't really fault them.

After the gig I wrote on perthbands:

Fuck last night at the Amplifier was awesome. Keish rules!

Duceman wrote:

That was the best show i've seen in fucking ages. Incredible.

Superstar Benny Mayhem wrote:

"Perhaps thanks to the hundreds of dollars worth of chemical entertainment floating around my brain, the Amplifier gig was not just awesome, it was fucking TRANSCENDENTAL. I haven't seen a show like that at Amps since Three Orange Whips' farewell - hopefully they will stop putting on bands with names like New Rules For Boats now. "

You can read the X-Press review of this gig if you like by clicking on the "Paint it Blackie" thumbnail above, or the text link below. I'm not a fan of the review... I know Lads (the reviewer) isn't really a Hard Ons fan and I think this shows. Also some of the info is inaccurate e.g., the room certainly wasn't "half-full" - it was very well populated during the Hard Ons set.

August

192. SUBTRUCK
@ Black Betty's, Friday August 12th 2005

and

194. THE DRONES
@ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Friday August 12th, 2005

The Western Derby was on the same night as this gig. A whole bunch of us went to Bobby Dazzlers and watched the game before heading off to Black Bettys' to watch Subtruck. A month or so before the gig I went halves in a nice video camera and a good shotgun mic with my brother. I used it to film Subtruck's set. Unfortunately the band completely blew the fuck out of the audio levels on the camera. Even when I turned the gain down 30db Subtruck were sending my levels into the red! As a result the video is pretty much useless - it looks ok, but he audio is a complete mess. The reason for the audio problems was a combination of Subtruck's sheer volume and an oversensitive mic (Rode have since sent me a less-sensitive replacement that works fine).

The general consensus amongst people I talked to at this show was that Subtruck had a rare off night. I can't really comment personally as I was in "film-mode" rather than "punter-mode". I can't remember much about the band's set at all.

A very inebriated Duceman took the photos of himself and Josie at this gig. The pic of Rob and Kris Truck has been ripped from the video.

After Subtruck finished I made a mad dash across to the Amplifier because I wanted to see The Drones. Duceman and Hayley were coming as well, but Duceman was so trashed that H. took him home instead. The Drones were great! I picked their setlist up after the gig... although they didn't actually stick to it on the night.

194. THE PANDA BAND
@ Curtin Uni Open Day, Sunday August 14th, 2005

I was helping out at an Open Day at Curtin this particular day. After my shift finished I was wandering around when I stumbled across The Panda Band playing to a bunch of prospective students. They played five or six songs, and it was reasonably entertaining.

195. FRAGILE BAND, TRIGGER HAPPY, THE CITY WATCH, SYNOPTIC
National Campus Band Competition Heats @ Curtin Uni Open Day, Wednesday August 17th, 2005

I judged this Campus Band heat at Curtin. It was weird getting asked to be a judge... I didn't feel worthy! This was a really poor quality heat. All of the band were pretty shit. Fragile Band were this bad emo-screamo band with a terrible vocalist. Synoptic were the tightest of the bands, but they sounded like ghey, Creed-esque puss. The City Watch won the heat, not because they were particularly good but because they were the least bad! The weather during this heat was also shit - it was freezing cold and raining. Thank fuck myself and co-judges Duceman and Brian got free beer and food all afternoon.

196. ATOMIC HEARTMOTHER, THE ICONOCLAST, TANGLED THOUGHTS OF LEAVING, PYROMESH, THE DOOZERS
National Campus Band Competition heats @ Curtin Uni Open Day, Friday August 19th, 2005

This heat was about 1000 times better than the previous heat. I was a judge again. Pretty much all of the bands would have easily come first if they had been in the previous heat.

Atomic Heartmother were quite entertaining. Music = good, vox = not so good. The Iconocloast were a punk band and they were lots of fun. They were at a disadvantage on the day though because one of the band's guitarists didn't show up to the gig. Tangled Thoughts of Leaving were a bit like Nine Inch Nails or Muse. They were a very young band and very energetic on stage. The Doozers were a joke band with silly songs such as "I wouldn't buy that for a dollar.". They were never going to win, but they were very good for a laugh. Pyromesh towered over all of the other bands like a giant beast. The band had so much equipment that they struggled to fit it all onto the small and fragile Curtin stage. Pyromesh were by far the most experienced band on the bill and it showed - they looked and sounded the most professional by a long shot. The vocals during Pyromesh's set stood head and shoulders above most of the other bands - the Pyromesh dude could actually sing melodically.

After the gig I wrote on perthbands:

Today's Curtin bands should all get a pat on the back. It was an excellent heat and very tough to judge as all of the bands put on good shows. Four points (out of 300) between first and third place shows it was very close!

Kanzax wrote:

Thanks Duceman, Mongoloid Dave and Mrb for making me for the rest of the semester listen to Alex tell people that Iconoclast on a shit day are proven to be 3% worse than Pyromesh. Pyromesh were pretty good though, if I was more down with metal I'd dig them.

197. THE NEXT TIME HEARTS, KEVIN GOT LUCKY, CHAOS DIVINE, INSIDIUM & EVE'S ARRIVAL
National Campus Band Competition Heats @ Curtin Uni Open Day, Wednesday August 24th, 2005

This was another high quality heat. I summed it up at the time on perthbands.

It was an excellent heat. Almost all of the bands were very polished and professional. Chaos Divine were fucking brutal. Great stuff! Insidium were very original, and Eve's Arrival were good at what they did and were unlucky to be pitted against two other excellent bands. Even the first band - the Next Time Hearts (who were missing two members) sounded quite good... it would have been interesting to hear them with a rhythm section.

It was nice change hearing vocalists that could actually sing today.

198. SENSORY DIVISION
National Campus Band Competition Heats @ Curtin Uni Open Day, Friday August 26th, 2005

This was the only 2005 NCBC Curtin heat that I didn't judge, because I had classes that clashed with the heat. I ducked down after class and saw one of the bands - Sensory Division, who I don't remember much about. I think they were pretty average. I wasn't interested in any of the other bands on the bill so I left.

September

200. ELEVENTH HE REACHES LONDON, KILL TEEN ANGST, THE WEDNESDAY SOCIETY & WHITECHAPEL
Love Like Violence 3 @ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Friday 9th September 2005

I had high expectations for this gig (and came to it on a high, having just watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Cinema City). It was a good gig but didn't quite live up to my lofty expectations.

Whitechapel were the musical highlight of the evening. Duceman was the band's official "drinks gopher" and got on stage a few times during the band's set to pour them beers. Whitechapel were very energetic and humorous, particularly bassist Ant. In between frequently dropping to his knees to rock out Ant found time to perform a hilarious solo tune about buying a chainsaw from a crazy Italian shopkeeper. It was champagne comedy! Mike Wafer was also in high spirits and cracking lots of jokes in between songs. The band played a "specially penned speed-metal song" for Love Live Violence and Rockus head honcho Steph. This gig was Whitechapel's first with their new guitarist. You would never have known this as the band were super tight. I'm still not a huge fan of Wafer's voice, but musically the band are fucking awesome, and a lot of fun onstage.

The rest of the bands (Kill Teen Angst, The Wednesday Society, Eleventh He Reaches London) seemed a bit off on the night. This might have been due to me being tired / drunk, however I talked to a few other people who also commented that the band's "weren't quite right tonight." The band's were all ok, but apart from Whitechapel none of them could hold my attention for a whole set.

What else happened... I met Rory from ZX Specky who was very cool and gave me a couple of free ZX Specky CDs. I also purchased an Eleventh badge featuring "a naked dude on a horse" (at least that's what the band's merch girl said the picture on the badge is... it's actually hard to tell).

October

200. NATIONAL CAMPUS BAND COMP GRAND FINAL 2005
@ Rosemount Hotel, Saturday 15th October 2005

I wandered down to this show in time to see Disguise. I wish I hadn't. Other people seemed to like this band, but I thought they were unoriginal and they bored me shitless. The funk stylings of the next band on the bill, Mechanism, made me even more painfully bored. Hence we went outside to the beergarden where I drank free beer and talked to various folks, which was much more entertaining. I was half interested in seeing The Preytells, but there was a two hour wait until they took to the stage. I was tired and bored and not that interested in seeing The Preytells so I decided to leave instead. If you want a rundown of the night read the X-Press review by clicking on the thumbnail to the left.

201. THE FUZZ, THE VOLCANICS, SCHVENDES, KILL DEVIL HILLS
100 Demons CD Launch @ Amplifier Bar, Friday October 21, 2005

This show was pretty fun. There were two stages (a temporary one was set up in the beergarden), non stop music and a big crowd in attendance.

I walked in as Schvendes were playing. I hadn't seem them before. I was highly impressed. They were moody and captivating.

The Volcanics were ok but I didn't particularly enjoy their set because I peeved with them at the time. Their drummer was highly amusing though, as he was doing a great "talking to his cymbals" routine.

I didn't see much of the Kill Devil HiIls because they had a huge crowd and I was talking to Trippo, Jacinta, Duceman and some randoms.

The Fuzz were brilliant. They very very drunk and very rocking! The set was also hilarious because the launch was sponsored by Healthway and Drug-Aware, but the band ended up smoking pot on stage! After the gig I wrote on perthbands:

Last night was fucking awesome. It was my first time seeing Schvendes and they were great... totally blew me away. They made a new fan. The Fuzz were fantastic, the new songs in particular were excellent. I souvenir a nice gig poster at the end of the night... it is with much amusement I look at the "Healthway" and "Drug Free" logos on it this morning.

202. THE HIVES & THE D4
Tyranosauraus Hives World Tour Finale @ Metropolis City, Perth, Monday, October 24th, 2005

Finally, I got to see The Hives! I should have seen them in 2001 at the Falls Festival, but things went horribly wrong. Then they came back to Oz to do the Big Day Out tour in early 2005, but left Perth off their schedule. So, this gig was third time lucky.

The Hives were amazing. I had lots of fun watching them, although the night wasn't quite as good as it should have been as I was going through a messy break up on the days before/of/after the gig, so I was a bit all over the place.

At the time I wrote:

First up were Kiwi's The D4. They were alright but kinda boring... middle of the road rock revival stuff. So many bands do this stuff better. The Hives, however, were amazing. This show was the last on the Tyrannosaurus Hives album world tour, so the band was determined to put on a big show, and that they did. The main set went for about 70 minutes and consisted mostly of T.H. album songs with a few thrown in off Veni Vidi Vicious, such as Die Alright, Main Offender and Hate To Say I told You So. The band then came out and played a 12 song encore, consisting of old songs that they "didn't really know how to play." It was rad... AKA Idiot, Find Another Girl, The Hives-Introduce the Metric System in Time, Inspection Wise 1999 and a great number called "Howlin' Pelle talks to the kids" all got a run. The band were extremely energetic on stage and the band's banter with the crowd really made the show... Howlin' Pelle was hilarious as he talked to the "Perthies, Perthians, Perthasauruses"... he really had us in the palm of his hand. He and the band looked as though they were having a great time and at the end of the show they got all of their crew on stage with them and got a huge round of applause. It was an awesome evening. Thank you Hives. P.S. Howlin' Pelle's eyes are pretty scary... so white, with big pupils."

Other people were blown away by this show. Here's some comments:

That was unreal. You guys dominated, tore that place apart. I felt so lucky watching your '2nd' set - I never thought that I would ever get to see those songs performed live. I had waited 5 years to see you play and you beat all my expectations. You played every song that I wanted you to play. You are the best. Praise the Hives! - Scott, Hives message board

My ears are shot, and are humming severely. I have the hangover from hell, got to bed at 3.30 on a school night and feel like a pig shat in my head. One of the best shows I have seen in my life. The bar just got lifted! - Heath on Jebs forum

Might just be my #1 show of all time - Millhouse, Jebs forum

That was the best show i've seen from anyone, anywhere, anytime. Completely incredible. I mean come on, they played Find Yourself Another Girl. WHO SAW THAT COMING? FUCKING NO-ONE! - Duceman, perthbands

THAT WAS THE BEST FUCKING SHOW EVER! - Johnny Ajax, perthbands

I hurt, im shaking, my heart rate is 200 bpm, im laughin at "pellism's, im crying over his snake hips and seductive eyes, i have no voice and i am tripping OUT. I seriously feel like im speeding on sound, this is a first for me. At the end they were all hugging and got all their crew up.man! it was something beautiful to see. I've seen them 4 times now, but this was fucking magic. Oh man! East coast coolsies - eat ya heart out!!!!!! BEST LIVE GIG EVER! EVER! EVER! NO SALVATION WITHOUT THE HIVES. - Spiderlegs, Mess and Noise

203. ZX SPECKY, THE CRACKERS, BURGERS OF BEEF & FEAR OF COMEDY
Pseudo-Intellectual Pop For Retards CD Launch @ Hyde Park Hotel, Saturday October 29th, 2005

Bam! I finally got myself to a ZX Specky gig. Before this show I'd never seen the band live, despite having three of their CDs (which are all good).

First up were Fear of Comedy. I only caught a couple of their songs, they seemed ok. Then were Burgers of Beef, a band I was looking forward to seeing. They didn't disappoint, playing an entertaining set. The Burgers remind me of all the humorous, catchy pop/rock band that I love to death (such as Custard and The Melniks). They seem to be the only band in Perth making this kind of music at the moment... most other Perth pop bands seem to have gone retro 60s pop (Bank Holidays, Burton Cool Suit) or are pumping out bland End of Fashion-esque pulp - where as Burgers = entertaining pop gold!

The Crackers were ok but had a lot of technical problems on the night. There is nothing exceptional about this band. So many other bands play similar music but are a lot better at it.

ZX Specky were awesome. I knew all of their songs so I was having a great time. Ben Mayhem was strumming his guitar so fast that his hands were a blur as he played (maybe this was also because I was a bit drunk). After ZX Specky myself and Duceman walked all the way to Kensington. It took us about two hours!

November

204. ANTISTATIC
Re-Awakening @ Alma Venville Recreation Centre, Maylands, Saturday November 12th, 2005

This wasn't a gig but a giant Wrestling show that I got talked into attending. Antistatic played a short set on the night during an intermission. They were quite good at what they do, but it's no quite my thing. The wresting was pretty cool though.

After the show I wrote on perthbands:

It was pretty awesome, especially the second half. I never realised wrestlers were such amazing athletes. Gentleman Jack Burbank's commentary was awesome, and seeing Brett Rowe get abused by Luke was hilarious.

205. WHITE SWALLOWS, NEW INVINCIBLES & THE SKELETONES
@ Mojos, Fremantle, Friday November 25th 2005

Myself and Duceman went to this show to check out The White Swallows, a two-piece featuring Dan from Jed Whitey and Kim the old dude from 78s. They were pretty cool, and beat 36'24'36's record for the least number of guitar sols in a set. Dan's drumming was entertaining as always, and Kim was throwing a lot of dirty old man lyrics into the songs. The New Invincibles were a bit of a surprise packet. These old guys ROCK without any wank. Totally awesome. The Skeletones have a cool name, good costumes, cool backdrops and ok songs, but it was obvious that they were the least experienced band on the bill... particularly in the stage presence department. They were promising though. They played a cover of a Kinks song called I Need You . I'm not sure that many people would have known it was a cover as the song is an obscure b-side... however it's one of my favourite Kinks' tracks, so I was delighted.

December

206. SCHVENDES & ELEVENTH HE REACHES LONDON
Twice the Man CD Launch @ Amplifier Bar, Saturday December 3rd, 2005

This gig was heaps of fun... although I didn't actually spend much time watching the bands.

Eleventh He Reaches London were pretty cool. Like always, they reminded me of a heavier version of Trail of Dead. The Kill Devil Hills I missed because I was talking in the beer garden. Schvendes looked a bit nervous on their big night, but what I saw of their set was pretty good.

207. BURGERS OF BEEF
Ride to Victory CD Launch @ Hyde Park Hotel, Saturday December 10th, 2005

The same day as this CD Launch I played my first cricket match in about 7 months. Six hours in the field nearly killed me. Then I went to bbq, followed by a party. The party was pretty crankin' and I didn't particularly want to leave, but I also wanted to see the Burgers of Beef launch their album Ride to Victory. The Burgers won out. The band had obviously gone to a lot of effort for the gig, setting up a makeshift stage and organising a string section for a few songs. They even had a cool stamp that you got when entering the venue that read Heat vs Ebb and Flow. The string section had a few 'issues' when they jumped on stage. The string-people were reading sheet music so they knew what to play, however the sheets were not clipped onto the stands on which they were perched. As a result the sheet music kept falling onto the ground... causing the string section to stop playing! This appropriately occurred during a song called Falling Down. Chad and Dee-Burger appeared to be very happy on stage, Blaine looked relaxed but Pete seemed a bit nervous. Penguin and the other Bingo songs that got a run were the highlights of the set for me. The new album songs also sounded good, and the band played an amusing cover of the Final Countdown for the encore! I nearly died watching the Burgers because my legs were in so much pain from cricket, but I still had fun! After the set I purchased the album and a t-shirt. Job well done Burgers of Beef!

208. ELEVENTH HE REACHES LONDON, SCHVENDES, ADAM SAID GALORE & EXTORTION
The Good Fight For Harmony CD Launch, Rosemount Hotel, Wednesday December 14th, 2005

This show was fun. I was designated driver for the night. Duceman, Hayley and Kristy were drunk as skunks and kept me highly entertained for the evening. As for the bands...

The Extortion play for about 15 minutes. I could handle their screamo/hardcore stuff on the night, but I wouldn't buy their CD. Adam Said Galore I found highly disappointing. I caught a bit of an ASG set in Decemebr 2004 and they were really catchy, but at this gig they were really boring... although Hayley liked them and declared herself ASG's "biggest fan and the only person in Perth who still gives a shit about them." Schvendes were ok but they couldn't really hold my attention for more than a few songs. Same story with Eleventh He Reaches London... they were good but couldn't hold my attention for their whole set.

The crowd at this show was very big for a Wednesday night. I'd suggest that it was a very successful launch for the Eleventh boys. Their album is quite good. Duceman describes it as "epic and thunderous."

209. THE GRATES
@ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Friday 16th December 2005

This show was entertaining - and sold out.

The Grates were great! Highlights of the set were the new songs such as Silence is Golden. Patience was typically energetic, leaping around the stage like a madwoman. Alana's drumming seemed to be a lot more powerful than it was at the band's previous show at the Amplifier. Damien from the Panda Band was at the front of stage singing all the words to the unreleased songs. If you want to know what setlist the band played, click on the thumbnail above (it's not my setlist - it was posted up by someone on the Grates forum)

The night concluded with Expatriate and New Rules for Boats joining The Grates on stage. All the band members were dancing around like idiots. It was entertaining to watch.

After the gig I wrote on perthbands:

I thought the Grates were rad last night. They sounded excellent (better than last time)... although Patience went a bit over the top with clichéd "We love you Perth, Perth ROCKS!" type banter. The Grates new-new songs were the highlight of the set for me... makes the band's upcoming album look promising.

210. SIN CITY, THE MEANIES & SHOTGUN WEDDING
@ Amplifier Bar, Perth, Saturday December 17th, 2005

I was very excited about seeing The Meanies at this show because they are one of my very favourite bands. The Meanies set was excellent, although I was a little too drunk to appreciate it as much as I should have. Sin City were entertaining as well.

After the gig I wrote on perthbands:

FUCK YOU PERTH! One of Australia's greatest punk bands played in our city last night and there must have been only about 100 people in the room. The Meanies were fuckin' great though... they played a great set. Scum, Never, Rambomania, Lyin', Darkside of My Mind, Big Bertha, Gangrenous, Dr Seuss, Try History, Round in Circles, 10% Weird, Ton of Bricks, Keep a Balance. There were probably one or two other tracks too, I can't remember exactly. My head hurts

A review of the show was published in X-Press on the Thursday after the gig. You can read it by clicking on the the "City Slickers" thumbnail above. The review is full of factual errors! For example:

"Neither the Meabies nor Sin City had set lists, which only added to the unpredictability of their rock n roll" - WRONG! I picked up Sin City's setlist at the end of the night! You can look at it by clicking on the thumbnail above.

"The Meanies played for a good hour" - you can see from the playing times above that the set was only 50 minutes long.

"Playing songs from the band's earlier days (like 10% Werid) and more recent times (like Buffalo Free)." - The Meanies didn't play Buffalo Free! In fact, they didn't play any post-1994 material. The most recent song they played was 10% Weird!

Why so many errors? Well, I later discovered that the reviewer was sitting out in the beer garden talking to one of my mates for almost all of Sin City's set. Presumably she also spent most of The Meanies' set in the beer garden. She sure gave the band's stellar reviews though!

211. THE MEANIES & SIN CITY
@ Newport Hotel, Fremantle, Sunday December 18th, 2005

The Amplifier Sin City/Meanies show was a big drunken night. Hence I decided to go along and see the band's again the next night...sober... so I could remember them a bit better! Link Meanie and Tom Prick were lovely enough to let me film both bands' sets. I was using a nice video camera and a good shotgun mic so it came out looking and sounding pretty good for a home video. Both bands' played really well. You can download a number of videos from the night below:

The Meanies

10% Weird \ Pay to Cum \ Scum \ Round in Circles \ Dr Seuss \ Rambomania

Sin City

Rest in Pieces \ Snake Eyes \ Teenage Rampage \ Summer Love Song

212. SUBTRUCK
@ Rosemount Hotel, North Perth, Friday December 23rd, 2005

I ducked down to this show at the last minute after being at a family dinner all night. I wrote about the show on perthbands:

I was at a family dinner till 11.30 so I can only comment on Subtruck. They are my favourite band in Perth. Whether they play to a full house or a small crowd (like last night) Subtruck always have a super-energetic stage show and sound fucking tight. I've seen a lot of other band's drop the ball when they play to a small crowd - they just go through the motions and have a dud gig - but Subtruck never do. I guess this shows how professional and passionate Subtruck are about their music. They are such an angry band but they never fail to make me smile every time I see them! I felt a bit bad at the end of the set last night though. I got a setlist and also spotted a lyric sheet for one of the new songs at the front of the stage. Being a little over-enthusiastic I thought it would make an excellent souvenir of the gig so I grabbed it. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but it turns out Phil Truck still needed it and he hunted me down as I was leaving the room to reclaim it. He looked a bit annoyed. Bad Mongoloid.

213. THE FUZZ
@ Prince of Wales, Bunbury, Saturday December 24th, 2005

I was in Bunbury for Christmas with my parents. Their house happened to be about four minutes walk from the Prince of Wales, so I headed down and caught The Fuzz playing a drunken set to their home town. There were lots of people there and they all seemed to be having a good time, as did the band. Doug was playing lots of AC/DC riffs in between songs, and I thought the band might play an Acca Dacca cover, but it wasn't to be. Jiah Fuzz must have been pretty trashed because he was talking, and he NEVER talks on stage! He was telling people to "come and shake their asses down the front." It was cool seeing The Fuzz play in Bunbury, it made a nice change from the thousand million times I've seen them at the Amplifier.