Nobunny is the solo project of Hunx And His Punx guitarist, Justin Champlin, and this was his band’s first tour of Australia in support of their latest album, Love Visions.
Newcastle’s Gooch Palms kicked off the night’s proceedings to an already packed Tote. The duo have a stripped back sound using minimal drums (two toms and a theremin) and a guitar and they were only a couple songs in before the singer decided it was time to get naked.
Off came the shorts and shirt and on they continued bashing out their short punky garage pop songs. They were a lot of fun and even delivered a unique cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Crazy Train’ that mixed in some Ramones for good measure. A very enjoyable set.
The venue was definitely approaching a full house when Bits of Shit took to the stage, blasting through their brand of punk rock mayhem. These cats have made quite a name for themselves here in Melbourne and tonight they showed the audience just why they have become such a hot commodity.
Backed by a pounding drumbeat, a thumping bass sound, and buzzsaw guitars, the vocalist jumped straight into a fit of mercenary antics as he screamed his way through each song. There was no slowing down for BOS as they played with ferocity and power, leaving the audience screaming for more as they left the stage after half an hour of punk madness.
The Tote was now at maximum capacity and for bands who have had little to no mainstream support, it’s amazing to see just how popular this brand of garage rock has become over the last couple of years.
Nobunny are a perfect example of a little known band who have piqued the interest of the people as they powered through catchy Ramones-esque pop and sing-along numbers.
It has to be noted that there’s something strangely odd yet quite punk rock about a band who are decked out in t-shirts and black underwear with a vocalist wearing a bunny rabbit mask, a black leather jacket, and little else.
The crowd lapped it all up though and went crazy for each song with beers and water flying all over the room. Nobody cared though as they were busy dancing, grooving, and engulfed in large amounts of moshing.
All up, it was a fun show and there were smiles on the faces of all in attendance.
Once the bands were done, the merch table became the place to be as t-shirts, vinyl, and even cassette tapes were being snapped up at an alarming rate. Garage rock is most definitely alive and well in Melbourne.
