This morning I woke up to “All That I’m Hearing From You is White Noise” playing in my head and I knew I had seen and heard a brilliant performance last night.
But getting to this concert was an adventure in itself. Ozgreeny and I got a last moment call up to do Live at the Gardens, in the Melbourne Botanical Gardens. As the trains were not working this weekend on our lines, we took the tram. 75 stops later (this is not an exaggeration) and a 15-minute walk, we arrived. Luckily, we knew someone up the front, who saved room for us.
So, tonight’s line up was DJ Knave, The Prize, Private Function and the incomparable The Living End. Unfortunately, we missed DJ Knave and The Prize. When we arrived, there was a buzz in the crowd as The Prize had just finished, and I was told with great passion by the dedicated fans up front that The Prize were “Phenomenal” and “Brilliant”. So, hopefully I will get the chance to see The Prize live myself in the future.
After a short wait in the beautiful setting of the Gardens, Private Function burst onto the stage. Lead by Chris Penney on lead vocals and sometimes bass, Anthony Biancofiore on lead guitar, Lauren Hester on rhythm guitar, Milla Holland on bass and sometimes vocals and Aiden McDonald on drums. They played a 45-minute set of 13 action packed songs.
Private Function are a crazy, high energy punk band. Lead singer Chris sports an iconic blond tinted mullet and commands attention with his Aussie larrikin humour and is surrounded by equally talented and haywire band members. Their music gave me The Chats vibes and their stage presence left me thinking that they had forgotten to take their ADHD medication. Private Function are a full on, high energy and “what did I just see” experience. Their set contained songs, such as ‘F**k Me Dead’, ‘Jusavinageez’, and ‘Grabbing my butt’.
Their lyrics are humorous and simple, Obviously aiming to shock and be controversial. The music is chaotic and fast with vocals sung by Chris’s Aussie twang and swagger of a crazy man, swapping to Milla’s monster vocals. This performance was fun but definitely not for the faint hearted or easily offended. For the lovers of punk this band is a must for you to see/listen to.
Now it is well into the evening and the packed crowd are waiting for the main act The Living End. The crowd is overwhelmingly made up of parents and their children. The passing on to the next generation of their love and passion for The Living End. Some punters have travelled great distances to be here, with the father and daughter in front of me travelling from Tasmania just to be up front on the barrier. At 8.35pm The Living End appear; the crowd surges forward. The band have a dedicated army of fans, who throughout the show sing every song word for word loud, clearly and passionately.
The boys, who have been together since 1994, have matured but not slowed down. Their performance is electric and they have not lost their distinctive sound. With Chris Cheney on vocals and guitar, Scott Owen on double bass and Andy Strachan on the drums, this performance was played in a 2-set format. The first set was made up of new and old classics and the second set was every track from the album that started in all in 1997, The self titled classic ‘The Living End’. They opened with ‘Alfie’ off their new album ‘I only trust rock’n’roll’ and then straight into ‘Roll on’. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy.
The Living End’s music is great to listen to, but is so much better live, with Scott’s iconic double bass moves and sound. The black and white, glow in the dark double bass is played to perfection and used as a dance partner and a standing on top of platform. Andy’s drumming is powerful and relentlessly tight. He is the driving rhythm behind every hit. Add in Chris’s melodic and versatile vocals and you have the consummate 3 piece pop punk rock/rockabilly band, who know exactly who they are and every note is without doubt their sound. Though the influences of ‘Stray Cats’, ‘Elvis Presley’, ‘The Clash’ and ‘ACDC’ can be heard, The Living End have created music that is unmistakably theirs.
The first set lasted just under an hour and contained 12 songs. After a quick break and costume change a small documentary starts playing on the big screen of the highs and low lights of the year 1997. The year that the self-titled and multi-ARIA winning album launched their career and sent the boys on a journey of a lifetime and 9 studio album later to 2025. By this stage Melbourne’s weather, which had been good all day, decided to let the heavens open, and by the end of the show we all looked like drowned rats. It might have been raining but no one moved, if anything the crowd surged forward more and partied harder and the atmosphere went up another level. The second set contained 14 tracks and the show concluded with a 2-song encore of ‘White Noise’ and ‘Uncle Harry’.
The show did not contain any disappointing moments. It was hit after hit and the showmanship on stage was incredible. The crowd showed nothing but love for the band and sang and pumped arms in the air for the whole show. I even spied a crowd surfer and a large throbbing mosh pit in the middle of the audience. By 11pm it was all over and the crowd looked soggy but very satisfied. If you live in Fremantle you have a chance to see this show on 29/11 at Fremantle Prison and Sydney on the 12/12 at The Sydney Opera House. I highly recommend you go if tickets are still available.
Thanks to The Rockpit, MG Live and bands for letting us be part of your special night in the Gardens. Thank you also to the fans who let us sneak up to the barrier and for holding a place for us to be up close.
All photos supplied by MCH | Mushroom Creative House
GALLERY
