Review: Pist Idiots supported by The Buoys and 100 at Stay Gold, Melbourne, June 22nd, 2019
If you like your speakers on loud and your moshpits sweaty, then the chances are good you’d have been all over the news that Revesby rockers Pist Idiots had announced a national tour back in March.
Hitting the road in support of their latest single, ‘Motor Runnin’, the raucous four-piece saw these shows as an opportunity to provide punters with “a heavy dose of some old fashioned Australian rock n roll.”
With the tour kicking off this weekend, the Pisties did exactly what they promised they would when they hit up Melbourne on Saturday night, delivering their Victorian fans one of the wildest experiences they will share in this year.
Check out ‘Motor Runnin’ by Pist Idiots:
As punters used Stay Gold – a relatively new addition to Melbourne’s music scene – as a means to escape the continuing cold weather, they were met inside by the warm alt-rock sensibilities of Sydney’s The Buoys.
Describing themselves as “equal parts sweet and savoury,” this description was undoubtedly proven to eager fans on the evening, with the group’s playful and fun-loving nature underpinned by their ability to deliver some absolutely stunning rock songs.
Ripping through tracks like ‘Frequently’ and ‘Make It Clear’, the group’s riff driven sound was breathtaking, with the audience clearly enjoying the group, shouting “you’re sick” following a mesmerising solo from new guitarist Hilary during a performance of their upcoming single, ‘Gold’.
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As their all-too-short set went on, The Buoys’ grunge and alt-rock influences were on full display, with ferocious lyrics coming at us at every turn. With performances of tracks like ‘Inside Outside’ and ‘Linda’ (“don’t piss off Zoe or else she’ll write a song about you,” warns the group’s drummer, Tess), it was obvious that the band were becoming firm favourites of the crowd.
In fact, after wrapping up their set, the audience’s requests for an encore were met with the devastating news that they don’t have any more tracks. Oh well, it looks like they’ll just have to catch The Buoys the next time they make the trek down to Melbourne – maybe they’ll have more songs to help fill out the early encore?
Check out ‘Inside Outside’ by The Buoys:
While excitement was definitely high following this stunning set, the crowd was clearly anxious for more. As beers were brought into the audience at a frightening speed, it was becoming clear that the night’s crowd were going to be somewhat rambunctious.
Thankfully though, 100 were ready for them, helping to continue the onslaught of New South Wales bands for the evening with a mesmerising mixture of rock, punk, and post-punk – covering all the bases in an equally-short set.
Right from the start, it was obvious that fans were in for something special, with 100 kicking their set off with a track rather reminiscent of early ’90s Britpop. However, while riffs and grooves sped by us as supersonic speeds, the group made it clear that they wouldn’t be sticking with just one genre.
No, eschewing their casual, yet grandiose sound for a much more forceful, crashing number the band were showing off some incredible stylistic versatility, as wordy lyrics mixed with a mesmerising post-punk sound that would’ve made even Fugazi blush.
With tracks like ‘Special Vision’ and ‘Cortisone’ proving that the band can write some amazing songs to back up this live show, it was obvious they’d made a few new fans as well, with the mosh pit starting earlier than scheduled, clearly giving these future Sydney icons the warm welcome they so obviously deserved.
Check out ‘Cortisone’ by 100:
By now, fans knew what they were in for when it came to the style of the evening’s entertainment, but as an incredibly quick turnaround came to a close, it was time for Revesby’s Pist Idiots to take the stage (a nice five minutes earlier than planned, too).
Being introduced by Steven Kelly, the group slowly sauntered onstage, looking completely at odds with the phenomenal live show that we were about to receive.
As the amps powered on and the volume knobs turned up, the Pisties kicked things off with a new song, clearly getting the formalities out of the way before they gave us a lesson in good old Aussie rock.
Clearly, they weren’t wanting to keep us waiting long, because before we knew it, the deadly one-two punch of ‘Chant This’ and ‘Ramble’ was sending the mosh pit pulsing, with fans crowd-surfing like it was going out a fashion, and a raining torrent of beer crashing down on punters at every angle.
From the outside of the mosh, it looked apocalyptic, with sweaty bodies everywhere doing their best to deal with the frantic nature of the set.
Sure, we were only three songs in, but already the heat had risen to the point where the crowd were taking their shirts off just to deal with it. By the time ‘Smile’ kicked off, the front of the stage looked like a beach in summer, while frontman Jack Sniff and the group’s drummer also waved their shirts goodbye as the sweat poured down.
As the Pisties jumped into ‘Surry Hills’, it was all-too obvious that this set would be one for the books, with Jack’s inhuman scream punctuating the track’s memorable verse, with the blistering mix of bass and guitar sending punters higher into the mosh, appearing to scrape their heads across the ceiling from time to time, or even narrowly miss the lighting fixtures.
While Steven Kelly took over on drums for ‘Pussy Weak’, fans were screaming lyrics at every turn, clearly enamoured by the stunning riffs and grooves on display – a sentiment that carried on over into the group’s powerful cover of the Buzzcocks’ ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)’, undoubtedly making the late Pete Shelley proud.
Check out ‘Leave It At That’ by Pist Idiots:
After slowing things down with the sombre ‘Princes’, it was time for the big guns to be brought out. Yes, if you thought this show was about to dial it down for the exhausted crowd, you were far off, with tracks like ‘Dirt’s Day Off’ seeing an almost-spent Jack Sniff powering through the pending exhaustion to scream out those vocals at every chance he got.
After dishing out the new song ‘Ticker’, the singalongs were in full effect, with punters belting out the lyrics to ‘Leave It At That’ and the anthemic ‘Fuck Off’, showing that the Pisties are well and truly adept with penning the ultimate pub rock song for the eager audience.
After serving up a stunning rendition of latest single ‘Motor Runnin’, Pist Idiots sadly had brought us to the end of the night, closing things off with a communal version of ’99 Bottles’, with almost every single in the voice in the crowd raised to its peak to help sing those huge lyrics.
As the tune came to its end and the crowd looked at the aftermath – clearly spying the litres of wasted beer on the floor, loose shoes, and sweat-covered t-shirts – it was as if we had just survived not only of the roughest experiences of the year, but obviously one of the wildest rock shows out there.
With a tendency to deliver some of the most ferocious live performances on the scene today, it’s clear that Pist Idiots are the future of Aussie rock and roll. Catchy tunes, paired with stunning riffs and crushing rhythms combine to give the average music fan exactly what they’re after, all the while ensuring that you get your cardio in at their gigs.
With a third EP on the way for later this year, the live shows from Pist Idiots certainly won’t be in low supply, and if this tour-opener was anything to go by, they’re only going to get more intense as time goes on.
Clearly, Pist Idiots are set to be one of the most iconic rock bands this country has ever produced before too long, and these shows are likely to go down in history as legend amongst their fans. Whatever you do, make sure you see them play live whenever you can – it’s an experience that you will never find anywhere else.
Check out ‘Fuck Off’ by Pist Idiots:
Pist Idiots @ Stay Gold, Melbourne 22/6/19 Setlist
(New Song)
‘Chant This’
‘Ramble’
‘Smile’
‘Surry Hills’
‘Pussy Weak’
‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)’ (Buzzcocks cover)
‘Princes’
‘Dirt’s Day Off’
‘Booze Blues’
‘Ticker’
‘Leave It At That’
‘Fuck Off’
‘Motor Runnin’
’99 Bottles’
Pist Idiots’ Motor Runnin’ Tour 2019
Friday, June 28th
Crowbar, Sydney, NSW (18+)
Tickets: Oztix
Saturday, June 29th
The Brightside, Brisbane, QLD (18+)
Tickets: Eventbrite
Friday, July 5th
Rocket Bar, Adelaide, SA (18+)
Tickets: Moshtix
Saturday, July 6th
The Sewing Room, Perth, WA (18+)
Tickets: Moshtix
Tickets on sale now
