After cancelling their Australian tour last year, Pennywise’s rescheduled show at The Palace was met with serious anticipation, the crowd hyped for a huge night of punk rock fury.
Opening the show were Pennsylvanian melodic punk rockers The Menzingers. Armed with a ton of melody and pent up angst, the lads managed to get the small early crowd pumped as they bashed through tunes from their latest album, On The Impossible Past.
This was the band’s second visit to Australia and the four-piece really brought their A-game. The Menzingers’ unique style of pop-punk doesn’t strictly conform to the much-stereotyped genre’s expectations. They have their own style and flavour to add, which made the set an enjoyably different collection of sing-along feel-good anthems.
Following up, Southern California’s Face To Face wasted no time in unleashing their three-chord punk rock filled with positive messages and clever lyrics. The band seemed to know exactly what the people wanted to hear, quickly dismissing later albums in favour of a set packed with songs from their flawless debut Don’t Turn Away and self-titled major label breakthrough.
Vocalist Trevor Keith seemed convinced that the kids hated them and reiterated this between each song. While it became old by the third announcement, they more than made up for it with a stellar set of great songs that still sound fresh and exciting 21 years after they were released.
They finished their set with 1995 breakthrough single ‘Disconnected’, which made the diehard crowd form a small moshpit amidst a huge chorus of cheers and flying beers. Face To Face haven’t toured Australia much, but their performance earned them a bunch of new fans and hopefully this will see the band return for their own headline tour in the near future.
Pennywise’s long-awaited return to Australian shores with original vocalist Jim Lindberg was greeted by an extremely enthusiastic crowd. From the first moment the band stepped on stage, you could feel the excitement in the air.
They didn’t hesitate to jump straight into their short, fast, loud and anthemic slabs of punk rock. Any room to move at the front of the stage was soon non-existent as the punters pushed forward in a bid to get as close as they could to their unsung heroes.
Crowd surfing, moshing, circle pits, you name it, Pennywise encouraged it. There were bodies flying everywhere as the band sped through a whopping 19 songs in just over an hour (including pre-emptive covers of AC/DC’s ‘TNT’ and Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’).
Lindberg looked quite content as he raced back and forth across the stage alongside his brothers. Despite vocalist Zoli Teglas’ departure from the band due to injury last year, some things just fit and Lindberg’s place fronting Pennywise is one of them.
Returning for the predictable closer of Bro Hymn, the band appealed to people to sing with them on stage. Whether it was crazed fans from the audience or members of the support bands, everyone was invited to sing with the band one of the most recognisable anthems of the ‘90s punk rock explosion.
There was not an unhappy face to be seen among those in attendance when the show came to an end. Pennywise’s return came with one hell of a punch, delivering a mind-blowing show that leaves no doubt as to why they were at the forefront of the ‘90s punk rock movement, something that continues to shine to this day.
