Pennywise, Face To Face, The Menzingers @ UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney (05/04/2013)
The night was finally here that many a Sydney punk fan had been waiting for.
After a canceled show last year due to new singer Zoli Teglas suffering a back injury, Aussie fans were left wondering would this night ever happen. Not only did it happen but it saw the return of much loved original front man Jim Lindberg.
It was a cold Friday night in Sydney, but that did little to dampen the spirits of the dickies shorts wearing, beer drinking and predominately male huge crowd. First on stage was The Menzingers from Pennsylvania USA. Even though the majority of the crowd were at the bar this band still played their hearts out.
They capture a sound reminiscent of early Rise Against. Front of stage the crowd was singing along. Once you get to know a few of their songs it's hard not to. Especially with a set that included songs like The Obituaries, Good Things, So It Goes, Ava House and Irish Goodbyes.
This band offers great punk rock songs and I really hope more albums and tours down under are on the cards.
Next up Face To Face took the stage. By this time the crow had definetely grown. Face To Face have been around for over twenty years and it was obvious how much they enjoy playing live and being in Australia. They tore through a huge set of songs that included ordinary, pastel, bright lights go down and disconnected. Vocalist Trever Keith would stop between songs to make fun of how he'd become a fat old punk rocker.
After an intermisssion, a chant of "Pennywise" had begun. The band then emerged to loud cheers from the crowd and kicked of the set with My Own Country.
Jim Lindberg spoke of how grateful he was to be back with Pennywise and how awesome it was to celebrate twenty five years together. Half way through the set the band decided to have some fun with the crowd asking them who they want to hear a cover song from. Jim and Fletcher would yell out band names to see how the crowd reacted. Names such as Sex Pistols, Rancid, The Clash, The Misfits, Frenzal Rhomb, Bodyjar, Black Flag. Eventually ending on AC/DC with Jim convincing Fletcher to plat TNT. This wasn't the only cover of the night they also played Nirvana's Territorial Pissings.
Highlights from the set list included I Don't Care, Peacful Day, Fuck Authority, Society and Alien. During Alien, the crowd started getting a little to crazy. Ripping down curtains from around the venue, creating circle pits and crowd surfing. But none of that compared to what would happen during the encore. Pennywise finished the night with the signature Anthem Bro Hymn. This caused the chaos to begin with many crowd members wanting to jump the barrier and join the band on stage for the sing along. The band seemed to be fine with it but the security guards weren't. With fights then starting between security and fans and Soundwave main man AJ Maddah watching on from above the stage, he didn't seem to pleased by what was going on either. But the end of the nights events aside it was a truly amazing gig.
With guitarist Fletcher speaking of the threats of war coming from North Korea songs like living for today seemed to take on a whole new meaning. I guess the gig that was meant to happen last year being canceled was a blessing in disguise.
Pennywise are a band that will always be welcomed back to our shores. A truly impressive live band and a gig I will always remember. Here's hoping for twenty five more years.
Christian Ross
After a canceled show last year due to new singer Zoli Teglas suffering a back injury, Aussie fans were left wondering would this night ever happen. Not only did it happen but it saw the return of much loved original front man Jim Lindberg.
It was a cold Friday night in Sydney, but that did little to dampen the spirits of the dickies shorts wearing, beer drinking and predominately male huge crowd. First on stage was The Menzingers from Pennsylvania USA. Even though the majority of the crowd were at the bar this band still played their hearts out.
They capture a sound reminiscent of early Rise Against. Front of stage the crowd was singing along. Once you get to know a few of their songs it's hard not to. Especially with a set that included songs like The Obituaries, Good Things, So It Goes, Ava House and Irish Goodbyes.
This band offers great punk rock songs and I really hope more albums and tours down under are on the cards.
Next up Face To Face took the stage. By this time the crow had definetely grown. Face To Face have been around for over twenty years and it was obvious how much they enjoy playing live and being in Australia. They tore through a huge set of songs that included ordinary, pastel, bright lights go down and disconnected. Vocalist Trever Keith would stop between songs to make fun of how he'd become a fat old punk rocker.
After an intermisssion, a chant of "Pennywise" had begun. The band then emerged to loud cheers from the crowd and kicked of the set with My Own Country.
Jim Lindberg spoke of how grateful he was to be back with Pennywise and how awesome it was to celebrate twenty five years together. Half way through the set the band decided to have some fun with the crowd asking them who they want to hear a cover song from. Jim and Fletcher would yell out band names to see how the crowd reacted. Names such as Sex Pistols, Rancid, The Clash, The Misfits, Frenzal Rhomb, Bodyjar, Black Flag. Eventually ending on AC/DC with Jim convincing Fletcher to plat TNT. This wasn't the only cover of the night they also played Nirvana's Territorial Pissings.
Highlights from the set list included I Don't Care, Peacful Day, Fuck Authority, Society and Alien. During Alien, the crowd started getting a little to crazy. Ripping down curtains from around the venue, creating circle pits and crowd surfing. But none of that compared to what would happen during the encore. Pennywise finished the night with the signature Anthem Bro Hymn. This caused the chaos to begin with many crowd members wanting to jump the barrier and join the band on stage for the sing along. The band seemed to be fine with it but the security guards weren't. With fights then starting between security and fans and Soundwave main man AJ Maddah watching on from above the stage, he didn't seem to pleased by what was going on either. But the end of the nights events aside it was a truly amazing gig.
With guitarist Fletcher speaking of the threats of war coming from North Korea songs like living for today seemed to take on a whole new meaning. I guess the gig that was meant to happen last year being canceled was a blessing in disguise.
Pennywise are a band that will always be welcomed back to our shores. A truly impressive live band and a gig I will always remember. Here's hoping for twenty five more years.
Christian Ross