Melbourne punk-rock band 28 Days are back, and it feels — and sounds — good.
Jay Dunne (vocals), Simon Hepburn (guitar), Damian Gardiner (bass), Jason “Jedi” Howard (turntables), and Dan Kerby (drums) ripped it up at one of Brisbane’s favourite live music venues, the Hi-Fi in West End, as part of their “Upstyledown” Australian Tour.
The support act before 28 Days was Brisbane-based Evil Eddie, who’d already been onstage with openers Spitfireliar, now promoting his debut solo album Welcome to Flavour Country. He was humble, although completely engaging and switched on, with some onstage band antics adding a playful edge to the show.
Evil Eddie’s performance of “Bad Son” was perhaps the strongest of his set; a good choice for the beginning of his timeslot that had audience members singing along.
“What You Give Is What You Get”, a self-confessed vent about the current state of hip hop in Australia, was a solid example of the hometown hero’s expansion into other musical genres featuring reggae elements and floor-shaking bass.
Rounding out the show were “(Somebody Say) Evil”, a burst of fresh energy, and the infamous “Queensland”, the chorus of which everyone sang along to (“Show your back to us / Shake that gluteus maximus / Hey”).
Just a little past 11 o’clock, 28 Days’ DJ Jedi got the sea of baseball caps, baggy shorts, and Vans shoes jumping around — literally — with a short remix of the almost-daggy but ever-popular “Jump Around” by House of Pain. It was a clever way to start the show, hyping the crowd for a formidable performance by the band.
The foursome had promised to play every track on their platinum album Upstyledown, and so they did. Popular tracks “Rip It Up” and “Sucker” raised the roof (of course), but lesser-known tracks also elicited an exuberant response from an audience clearly composed of true fans.
Even the shorter “filler” tracks from Upstyledown were in the show. “28 Days Can F*** Off” and “Don’t Touch My Turntables” barely make one minute of the overall album, yet still featured in the set.
In the former track, the call and response of “28 Days can?” and “F*** off!” was very effective in getting the audience involved. In the latter track, Dunne had a go on Jedi’s turntables, at which point Jedi warned, “Don’t touch my turntables”. This was performed line for line, down to Dunne’s excitable “Yeah!” responses. Admittedly a little on the cheesy side, but a bit of nostalgia can do wonders.
The high-energy tracks “I Remember” and “Spicy Fingers” were perfect examples of what make 28 Days a memorable punk rock band, while the sweeter, more melancholic “Song for Jasmine”, displayed a softer side that the punters still enjoyed, years after the debut of the album.
Spitfireliar, Evil Eddie, and 28 Days make a good touring trinity, with each group praising and promoting the others. That said, in the spirit of good-natured tomfoolery (or maybe just the result of a few too many drinks), the boys frequently had difficulty remembering the name of second support act the E3s.
All in all, it was an energetic night of solid live performances and it’s good to see 28 Days back. Here’s hoping that the band can dedicate their enthusiasm and talent to a new record and many more shows in future.
