Millencolin, The Vandals, The Interrupters @ The Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne (23/02/2015)
After fighting through the intense chafing that I acquired at Soundwave (so worth it), and after getting strange looks from security for my Sharks “Fuck God, Believe In Yourself” t-shirt, I found a great spot down the front of The Hi-Fi for what would be an awesome night of punk rock.
The Interrupters left the locker rooms and made their way onto the proverbial pitch first, with their tight Ska influenced punk rock in tow. The group’s performance was the same as their festival set, but that wasn’t a bad thing as it provided good times for the small but loyal fans in attendance. They even got Anty Horgan from The Bennies to come out (just like their festival shows) and it was a great show of friendship amongst peers. By ending their set with Family, the venue, which sung along enthusiastically, had already filled up for one of punk rock’s finest bands. The Vandals have been playing music for a long fucking time now. They definitely have a few years on the other two acts and even on their fill-in drummer, Derek Grant (from the mighty Alkaline Trio), but their age didn’t stop them from putting on a great and highly energetic show, which was made up of select cuts from their 30 plus year career. The band also played a host of covers, the most notable of which was a rendition of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now, which helped to bring the house down for their last song. It was also around this time that guitarist Warren Fitzgerald and singer Dave Quackenbush traded places so Fitzgerald could take on lead vocal duties as his usual acrobatic oddball self, and from what I could tell, the large numbers of fans loved every single minute. |
I
truly believe that Millencolin can put a smile on anyone’s face. The
Swedes music is simple, yet fast and fun, catchy and uplifting, and it
should be considered mandatory listening for any one who even remotely
likes punk rock. As they hit up Australia like clockwork on two-year
intervals, the packed out club was definitely geared up for one of the
bands first intimate shows on our shores in quite a while.
Kicking proceedings off with seminal track and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 anthem, No Cigar, the Swedes ran through a great set that was all about the new and old classics - Fox, Ray, Cash Or Clash, Carry You, Man Or Mouse; you know, all of the good stuff.
The crowd was taken back to the 90’s with songs like Twenty Two (during which some random picked me up and shook me around in care-free bliss), Bullion and even having lead guitarist Mathias Färm take the lead on Mr. Clean to round off the first part of their brilliant set.
Of course, encores aren’t quite as spontaneous as they used to be, but hey, when Millencolin launched into old favourites like Penguins & Polarbears and Olympic, no one cared as bodies flew over the barrier and we all sang along as loud as we could.
Ending with their cover of Operation Ivy’s Knowledge to cap off one epic show, I wondered if it would be another two years until the band came back, and I realized I could wait. Well, hopefully.
Alexander Sievers
Kicking proceedings off with seminal track and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 anthem, No Cigar, the Swedes ran through a great set that was all about the new and old classics - Fox, Ray, Cash Or Clash, Carry You, Man Or Mouse; you know, all of the good stuff.
The crowd was taken back to the 90’s with songs like Twenty Two (during which some random picked me up and shook me around in care-free bliss), Bullion and even having lead guitarist Mathias Färm take the lead on Mr. Clean to round off the first part of their brilliant set.
Of course, encores aren’t quite as spontaneous as they used to be, but hey, when Millencolin launched into old favourites like Penguins & Polarbears and Olympic, no one cared as bodies flew over the barrier and we all sang along as loud as we could.
Ending with their cover of Operation Ivy’s Knowledge to cap off one epic show, I wondered if it would be another two years until the band came back, and I realized I could wait. Well, hopefully.
Alexander Sievers