Hopping on a plane straight from work on Friday, thanks to the miracle of human flight we got to the Tote Hotel in time to catch Grim Fandango, who were solid with some nice guitar interplay. Being 2 British beer drinkers it took most of GF's set for us to recover from the shock of an $11 pint! That pretty much pays for a night out in some pubs back home. Unfazed, we soldiered on, surrounded by our bearded brethren (I'm pretty sure I only saw 1 clean shaven guy the whole weekend!). Up next were my highlight of the night, I Exist. With 4 guitarists on stage, plus bassist, singer and drummer, it initially looked like there'd been a mix up with the scheduling and 2 bands were setting up at the same time. The singer looked like Wayne Campbell and sounded like Phil Anselmo, and the riffing had a heavy Pantera groove; all delivered with a tongue in cheek ("this song's about 500 women; it's called 1000 Boobs") - I had a massive grin on my face for the duration.
I think Luca Brasi are probably the first Tasmanian band I've seen, and I was not disappointed.'Nuff 'spec to the guitarist for sporting a Queen t-shirt. Rounding out the night after them was Extortion, playing the "fast, heavy, short" brand of anarcho-thrash pioneered by Napalm Death back in the day. I suspect they were scheduled last as the organisers knew it would be too much for some audience members, but I loved it and stayed for the duration.
Recovering from the Itchy Green Pants ale and the [well deserved] kebab, Saturday saw us roll up to the Old Bar in Fitzroy for some chilled out acoustic acts, and the first of many Mountain Goat beers. Wil Wagner roused the crowd with acoustic renditions of his Smith St Band anthems, but for me the highlight of the acoustic troubadours was Lincoln Le Fevre, another Tasmanian I believe and maintaining the success rate for the island state.
After a jazz apple cider followed by a successful trip to the Little Creatures flagship pub, we headed across town to the Corner in Richmond in time to see Restorations for the second Saturday in a row, having caught them at the Annandale in Sydney the previous week. A top notch US touring band; highly recommended. Inevitably it was now time for the ubiquitous Jamie Hay to make an appearance onstage, with the final ever gig for A Death in the Family, yet another solid act. Headlining the night was US "big name" Rival Schools, who were very good but I felt the pacing was a little off, RS being a little more considered and laid back after the high energy punk rock of the preceding bands. The Corner is a great venue but my advice to you is this: don't bother trying to get in a taxi; it's open warfare between arrogant cabbies and drunks down in Richmond. We eventually walked home and saw a possum weeing out of a tree.
Sunday's festivities took place in what, to a Melbourne noob like me, felt like the middle of nowhere, in a surprisingly large pub/venue called The Reverence in Footscray. We eventually found the 2nd, larger, stage concealed in a separate building out back, through an unassuming doorway, reminiscent of the "people training to be in a James Bond film" scene from Wayne's World. We were just in time for Milhouse, whose more dynamic and angular approach set them apart as another highlight for me. The camaraderie of the scene was evident, with Wil Wagner jumping onstage a couple of times to shout some extra vocals and exchange sweaty man hugs with the bass player. Back over at the front stage, Lincoln Le Fevre was making his second appearance, this time with a band backing him. Impressively he managed to pull off 2 distinct sets over the weekend that each felt perfectly arranged, rather than simply the same approach with different instrumentation.
Finally on the acoustic stage was old [but surprisingly young] favourite Jen Buxton, with the inevitable and welcome Jamie Hay appearance. I felt the set lost its way a little with too many lineup changes onstage - all great performers and songs, but why not give them their own, longer sets instead of a last dash potpourri? Our crew were unanimous in enjoying Jen and Jamie's duets as a highlight of the weekend. Finally, back in the sweaty secret room out back, the weekend closed off with a triumphant set from the Smith Street Band, probably on their way to being Australia's next biggest punk idols. The crowd-surfing was endless, the HULK SMASH shirt ripping from Wil Wagner was probably a trifle unnecessary, Jamie Hay inevitably made an appearance, and through it all the venue's glass collectors tenaciously gathered every empty vessel as if they were being paid by the glass.
All in all an excellent weekend, with not a bad band in sight, and wonderfully not a single idiot in sight either (I'm going to give a bye to the people who jumped in our booked cab in front of us. I only hope they've not continued to assume our identities.) It was also a great way to see more of a fairly unfamiliar city. Thanks to the bands (and sorry for the ones I forgot to mention here, but not a single bad one!) and the folk at Poison City Records for making it happen: a triumph!
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