Scientists@ MusicBox

Thu 14th Feb, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Scientists are famous for being the band that invented grunge but never got credit for it. Their name has been dropped by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Warren Ellis of the Dirty Three, Henry Rollins of Black Flag, Gareth Liddard of the Drones and members of Nirvana and Mudhoney.

The crowd was as varied as the band’s music. Lifelong fans and shoegazers swayed along with indie-kids who weren’t even born when the iconic punk-grunge album Blood Red River was released as a six-track EP in 1982. Scientists Kim Salmon, Tony Thewlis and Boris Sujdovic joined drummer Leanne Cowie (replacing the late Brett Rixon) played their album from start to finish as part of the Don’t Look Back retrospective special event for the Perth International Arts festival.

Punk bands have never been praised for their musical complexity but what Scientists lack in musicianship they make up for in rockability.

In true rock and roll tradition, Thewlis strummed his guitar with the bottom of a vodka bottle to produce grotesquely brash and scary sounds during Revhead. The slower, lurching title track Blood Red River was accompanied by engulfing green smoke reminiscent of an early – œ90s grunge video as Salmon shrieked and growled as well as he did in his prime.

We had love, a crowd favourite, is as close to upbeat as Scientists get on Blood Red River and had even the shoegazers jumping up and down before the morbid droning of Clear Spot, Nitro, Solid Gold Hell and Murderess in a Purple Dress brought their eyes back to the floor and their hands back to their sides.

The night certainly didn’t end on a sober note however. The real treat was left for the encore when former members James Baker (drums) and Rod Radalj (guitar) of the Hoodoo Gurus joined Salmon and bassist Sujdoric on stage for and the rarely heard Fire Escape and the more punk-rock Frantic Romantic.

A band characterized by dirty guitar, random distortion and noise is better experienced live. Any carefully edited record that threatens to clean up Scientists’ sound is a poor substitute for the real thing. The audience chanted for a second encore but it never came.

Salmon once said that Perth had rejected the Scientists’ first incarnation, so the reincarnated Scientists left Perth without giving it a second chance.

On a balmy Perth night, more than two decades later, the second chance was finally given.