Bodyjar, Luca Bras, The Sinking Teeth @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (02/11/2013)
When I arrive at Richmond's Corner Hotel, the floor already looks full.
Opening three piece The Sinking Teeth are blasting out some very bass driven pop punk, and with the exception of the row of fans against the barrier head-banging extravagantly, everyone seems to be taking it easy and getting to know who they'll be crush up against in an hour.
By the end of their set, they've stolen the audience’s affection through memorable riffs and frankly hysterical lyrics. They leave the stage with certainly more than one or two new fans won over.
Next up are the punk darlings of Australia, Luca Barsi. As the curtain blinds the audience's view during sound check, they let out a tribute to fallen Sydney brothers in arms Milhouse through an instrumental cover of the first verse of Tl;dr.
From the moment the curtains open, the band come out guns a-blazing, snapping up the audience with screeching hooks and perhaps the catchiest lyrics I've heard all year. The band dominated the stage as they blasted though their melodic punk back catalogue, making sure there wasn't a still body in the house. By the end of the set, everyone was itching for more. However, they would have to wait.
At last, the time came that everyone was waiting for, and Bodyjar stormed onto the stage with the intensity that have kept them relevant for nearly twenty years. From the starting chords of Role Model from their new album of the same name, the crowd went wild, in one swift motion that did not stop until the band left the stage. As they launched into songs such as One in a Million and Hope Was Leaving the energy from the band seemed to bounce off the walls. However, there were a few issues.
The first five songs unfortunately were plagued with technical problems involving the lead guitar. The interruptions did put a damper on the mood, as did the slight off key ringing of said guitar, but frankly they amount of energy and command of the stage and emotion of the crowd shoved me back in there again. After a blistering mix of new greats and old classics, the Melbourne born band bid farewell, all except bassist Grant Relf, who told us to "Give them two minutes."
After leaving the stage for "just two minutes", Bodyjar returned to finish off what they had started. And to my surprise as they leaped into Feel Better, they tore into the night with more intensity than they had shown the entire show, something I thought unachievable.
While closing with a blistering punk rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s A Hazy Shade of Winter, the crowd saw both roadies and musicians soaring over their heads as Luca Brasi conducted a mass stage dive to end the night. It was a fantastic end to a brilliant night.
Overall, Bodyjar has had a lot of time since their 1993 creation to recognise their strengths and their weaknesses, and based on this night alone I'd say that they've put a lot of effort into understanding this.
The supports that were chosen complimented them brilliantly and the setlist, as I previously said, was a good mix of classic songs along with the new. There were issues of course such as the technical difficulties, and while the set list was well put together, it could have flowed together a bit better, but the band downplayed these problems quite well through a fantastic support crew and hysterical onstage banter (Also, a hot dog may have been involved).
There were quite a few satisfied faces when it came to leaving. I'm happy to count myself as one of them.
Ben Spencer
Opening three piece The Sinking Teeth are blasting out some very bass driven pop punk, and with the exception of the row of fans against the barrier head-banging extravagantly, everyone seems to be taking it easy and getting to know who they'll be crush up against in an hour.
By the end of their set, they've stolen the audience’s affection through memorable riffs and frankly hysterical lyrics. They leave the stage with certainly more than one or two new fans won over.
Next up are the punk darlings of Australia, Luca Barsi. As the curtain blinds the audience's view during sound check, they let out a tribute to fallen Sydney brothers in arms Milhouse through an instrumental cover of the first verse of Tl;dr.
From the moment the curtains open, the band come out guns a-blazing, snapping up the audience with screeching hooks and perhaps the catchiest lyrics I've heard all year. The band dominated the stage as they blasted though their melodic punk back catalogue, making sure there wasn't a still body in the house. By the end of the set, everyone was itching for more. However, they would have to wait.
At last, the time came that everyone was waiting for, and Bodyjar stormed onto the stage with the intensity that have kept them relevant for nearly twenty years. From the starting chords of Role Model from their new album of the same name, the crowd went wild, in one swift motion that did not stop until the band left the stage. As they launched into songs such as One in a Million and Hope Was Leaving the energy from the band seemed to bounce off the walls. However, there were a few issues.
The first five songs unfortunately were plagued with technical problems involving the lead guitar. The interruptions did put a damper on the mood, as did the slight off key ringing of said guitar, but frankly they amount of energy and command of the stage and emotion of the crowd shoved me back in there again. After a blistering mix of new greats and old classics, the Melbourne born band bid farewell, all except bassist Grant Relf, who told us to "Give them two minutes."
After leaving the stage for "just two minutes", Bodyjar returned to finish off what they had started. And to my surprise as they leaped into Feel Better, they tore into the night with more intensity than they had shown the entire show, something I thought unachievable.
While closing with a blistering punk rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s A Hazy Shade of Winter, the crowd saw both roadies and musicians soaring over their heads as Luca Brasi conducted a mass stage dive to end the night. It was a fantastic end to a brilliant night.
Overall, Bodyjar has had a lot of time since their 1993 creation to recognise their strengths and their weaknesses, and based on this night alone I'd say that they've put a lot of effort into understanding this.
The supports that were chosen complimented them brilliantly and the setlist, as I previously said, was a good mix of classic songs along with the new. There were issues of course such as the technical difficulties, and while the set list was well put together, it could have flowed together a bit better, but the band downplayed these problems quite well through a fantastic support crew and hysterical onstage banter (Also, a hot dog may have been involved).
There were quite a few satisfied faces when it came to leaving. I'm happy to count myself as one of them.
Ben Spencer