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Words Rob Graves.
Photos Kim Anderson – Shoot The Wicked Witch.
It was a warm Friday night and blood rock was in the air, and line to get in!
First up were Crash Rat, who I have never heard of, yet managed to be blown away. Sounding like a mix between Motley Crue and Aerosmith, they dominated their opening slot. Their set included Rebel Youth, Rest In Sleaze and Zombie Girl. They are Perth’s answer to rock’n’roll. Singer OD Winters owned his spot on the stage and these guys definitely deserve to support some of the better known Perth acts.
The Shakeys featured a new lineup of sorts, Caleb Merrey (of The Blazin’ Entrails fame) was filling in tonight for Jess Twin on bass due to some really unfortunate circumstances (we hope that Jess is doing well and she is in our thoughts). He fit right in with the girls version of rock’n’moll. Opening with Don’t Make Me Crawl and Pink Demon, the girls (and dude) show us why they are one of Perth’s most loved bands right now. Solid solos, solid bass riffs and an excellent beat delivered by Lauren Reece their drummer. Closing with White Lightning and Drinking Till Dawn, punters were left wanting more.
Up next were Emu Xperts. I was excited to catch these guys for the first time but walked out after the start of their first song. They are so punk rock that their guitarist Jarrad Carr needed to threaten to bash me in front of a room full of people over a silly internet argument from two years ago (apparently he finds rape jokes / violence against women funny). He took this one step further after the set in the courtyard by actually violently approaching me trying to drag me outside. “C’mon lets fight!” Apparently a conversation wasn’t going to be had to sort this out and security stepped in, again in front of a packed room of people. Way to embarrass yourself buddy. From what I did manage to hear their set was good, vocalist Blake Hate has a passion for the local punk scene that shows in his songs. Would love to actually watch these guys one day.
Bunbury was showing Perth a second time tonight why their bands kick ass, the much loved Blackwitch were up next. I’ve seen them support Chainsaw Hookers a few times now and I’m never left disappointed. There was a constant wall of sound for the whole set which included some great songs. Highlights for me were Stormbringer, Seek and Despise and Immortality. They warmed up the crowd for the next set.
Blood Rock pioneers Chainsaw Hookers were up next, tonight they were releasing their single Make Them Die Slowly and also showing the new clip for the song. They didn’t kill us slowly, they delivered a swift kick to the nuts from the start of the set. For those who live in a cave and have never seen the Hookers play, they sound like Turbonegro, Motorhead and a bit of GG Allin thrown in. My Revenge has always been a favourite to see live and it felt like it had some extra punch to it tonight. Make Them Die Slowly, Viper Meltdown and Never Sleep Again brought the punters in and sent guitarist Alex Cotton out into the crowd, I’ve yet to see the dude fall of somebody’s drunken shoulders. They closed the night with Black Christmas, Party Man and Death Curse.
Other than a moment of punk rock violence tonight’s bands showed why Perth needs to keep venues open and stop closing the damn things. There is so much talent here in this little city and it’s a shame to see many much loved venues close up shop and become flower stores.
