In town for Pushover Festival, Brisbane bands Violent Soho and Velociraptor united for a packed one-off show at Melbourne’s Ding Dong Lounge.
Support came from Melbourne locals Udays Tiger. Remarkably similar in sound and appearance to fellow rockers (and Velociraptor members) DZ Deathrays, the guitar-and-drums two-piece blasted through their set with a minimum of fuss and chatter.
Self-described as “predominantly a rock band,” Udays Tiger mix elements of punk, garage and grunge to form a raw, motley style that flows and drives in equal measure. The set picked up after drummer Nathan Morris took over singing duties, allowing guitarist Devin de Araujo to focus on ripping, albeit sometimes self-indulgent solos. They peaked with some ferociously high-energy numbers to finish and left the growing crowd fired up for the night to come.
Next up, Australia’s favourite party-dinosaurs Velociraptor crammed onto the stage. With barely enough space for the seven of their 12 members in attendance, they somehow found room for their usual capering, with frontman Jeremy Neale’s trademark manic freeze-frame dance moves and drummer-cum-singer James X Boyd’s disturbingly sexual stage-grinding particularly prominent.
In a set that kicked off with “Hey Suzanne” and featured hits such as “Riot”, “The Walk On By” and “Cynthia”, it was the lesser-known tracks such as “Mystery Man” and “Sleep With The Fishes” that stood out.
Velociraptor are renowned for their lively stage presence and the whole band threw themselves enthusiastically (and wildly) into to the performance, with Neale at one point insisting that they stop playing so he could continue screaming.
With so many members, those unfamiliar with the band are often tempted to wonder just what they all do, but the added instruments only enhance Velociraptor’s bold and frenetic ‘60s-drenched garage pop sound.
By the time they closed with live favourite “In The Springtime”, the band’s infectious energy had spread to the crowd, with a large group dancing front-and-centre alongside the occasional stray band member.
The arrival of Violent Soho brought a change in style but no drop in atmosphere as the shift from pop to rock quickly inspired the formation of a heaving mosh.
Three years on from their breakthrough self-titled 2010 album, the Brisbane lads have a new album on the way and rocked their way through a set of old favourites and potential new hits.
Their ‘90s-influenced grunge-punk translates into an intense live show, and tracks like “Love Is A Heavy Word” and “Muscle Junkie” had the crowd bouncing and screaming back at lead singer Luke Boerdam.
By their own standards, recent single “Neighbour Neighbour” is relatively calm, but smashed out on stage with pummeling heavy bass, distorted guitars and Boerdam’s hoarse vocals, it became a brutal headbanging number.
The night came to a huge conclusion with the potent double header of early single “Jesus Stole My Girlfriend” and the recently released blinder “Tinderbox”, complete with many attempted (and failed) stage dives and rowdy singing-along.
Finally, the crowd were allowed to spill back into the steamy night with sore throats and ringing ears all round.
