On a soggy St Kilda evening, the Espy was packed to the hilt for the Unwritten Law sidewave show; Sweden’s Royal Republic started things off early to a reasonable sized crowd. Playing an entertaining and well received set, they know how to get the audience going. Throwing a drumstick into the mosh and joking “now fight to the death”, they splice lines from Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” (not so popular) and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” (moreso) in to their song “Tommy-Gun”. They are fun and while not a must see, they are worth a look if you find yourself with some free time.
As far as opening acts go, the evening did not belong to Zebrahead. As stable and suitable as a support outfit that the band is, sadly their performance solidified the idea that this is only place where they can actually belong. Shredding metal guitar riffs over the top of oddly placed vocals became a confusing mish mash of genres. While they may see themselves as jacks of all trades, they are masters of none. Resorting to the novelty factor of having a tiki bar onstage, as cool an idea as it is, they seem to be struggling to stay relevant on a world that has moved on. While they are by far not the worst band on the Soundwave line-up, they are probably worth steering clear of unless you are a true fan.
With an almost totally re-established line up, Unwritten Law looks like it could be in danger of becoming The Scott Russo Project. However, as soon as the searing opening chords of “Teenage Suicide” burst into the packed Gershwin Room it is clear that Unwritten Law still sound as fresh as it did 20 years ago. A microphone malfunction saw Russo go silent for the first verse of “Up All Night” but after swapping mics three times they managed to finish the song.
Backing up with “Lonesome”, Unwritten Law show why it has endured for as long as it has. Russo’s emotive lyrics are delivered with an unquestionable masculinity and attitude, and his voice is still as powerful as ever. Managing to dodge the near constant water and cups being thrown onto the stage, Russo is only slightly ruffled when a heckler yells out, “Go home!” The singer throws back, “Did that motherfucker say go home? I am home, motherfucker!” to huge cheers.
Venturing only briefly into their newer work, they play “Starships And Apocalypse” from 2011’s Swan before a rolling wave of crowd surfing breaks out to “Seein’ Red”. After the acrimonious spilt between Scott Russo and the guitar/bass combo of Steve Morris and Pat “PK” Kim, Kevin Besignago and Derik Envy do a solid job of picking up where they left off. Surprisingly, Unwritten Law’s biggest hit “Cailin” is not left as an encore and makes an appearance late in the band’s set, the whole audience singing along. Switching to an acoustic for a solo rendition of the ballad “Rest Of My Life”, the rest of the band comes back onstage for the break up anthem “She Says” which gets an even louder reception than “Cailin”.
Finishing up with “Save Me” and leaving behind ear splitting guitar feedback, the band return for an encore. Covering Grinspoon’s “More Than You Are” with a ferocity that rivals the original and the audience goes ballistic. The omission of “Holiday” is slightly puzzling, but the rest of the killer set made up for it. If there was any ever doubt of whether or not to catch them at Soundwave, their sidewave show proved that Unwritten Law are still a force to be reckoned with and an act not to be missed.
– Madison Thomas
