Grungefest Finale @ TheJubilee, Brisbane (29/03/08)

Fri 4th Apr, 2008 in Gig Reviews

A mass selection of Brisbane bands over twelve hours at the Jubilee Hotel called for more drinks and shorter skirts. Well, not really, because Attack of the 50ft Woman provided enough short skirts for the entire event. The mostly male audience would agree: who needs talent when you have so much eye candy on stage in front of you.

The groovy and carefully constructed sounds of Company Sin could be heard floating over the sleepy mid afternoon crowd. Next the Celebrity Stalkers aurally slapped the crowd alive with their pure punk vibes. A mix between Sex Pistols and Dead Kennedys, City Lights and Locked On definitely quenched the thirst of this aging punkette.

The gorgeous Angel Lee may have had a short skirt on but it was her performance that shone, her strong flailing vocals were demonstrated perfectly throughout Broken Pieces. The dreadlocked and bespectacled and evenly gorgeous men completed the outfit with excellent guitar riffs, smooth bass and to-die-for percussion. Killstar, too, have a strong, neat sound.

The Pints’ influences are evident through their music, causing a fusion of ska and punk that was very fast and very loud. Ultimately fun with a political undertone (you can’t hug your children), making it hard not to get up and party with them. One wonders how Parker manages to keep the beats so tight.

Crowd pullers Endless Nameless out-did themselves. Not only did they look the part, these boys know how to play the part. Their kick ass set was enhanced by Ash’s usual antics of bouncing around the stage. He actually threw his guitar into the crowd with one punter catching it – playing a few chords and throwing it back to Ash. Dan, Luke, Lankis and Ash are definitely rock’n’roll stars with a keeping it real attitude.

Dementia13’s song The Vanity Fare is strangely upbeat while the rest of their toxic tunes show a parallel to that of Frenzal Rhomb. The energised Dan, Rob and Nat demonstrated their music abilities by playing a diverse range of melodic punk songs. These guys were excitingly entertaining and their years of experience really make a difference.

Meanwhile on the other stage, old school heavy metal band Group Therapy was extremely loud and fast. Lots of reverberated music and masks with woolen hair were the assets to The Cunt Offensive’s set.

Refreshingly different, The Mercy Dolls rocked the Mudhoney stage with little effort and lots of screaming. The girls stole the show with their twisted good looks and appealing playing. Version One was a quirky and melodic winner. The Mercy Dolls were a purposefully tight package with a raw edge.

Back at the Nirvana stage, PunXie and the Poison Pens executed the perfect portrayal of punk with the ultimate chick lead vocalist, a combination of Blondie and Transvision Vamp but with a meatier sound. My Pussy is the Bomb and Just Too Jerry Springer was humorous punk-riddled hymns enjoyed by the minions. The prowess and fascinating appeal of this band left us wanting more.

The crowd’s reaction to the ShrewmS was an awesome sight. The ShrewmS encouraged interaction with the crowd and the outcome was a spot on party atmosphere. Heaps of movement on stage and fantastic percussion primed by drummer Gregor Mulvey.

The novelty-named Spank Sinatra were entertaining, unadulterated exhibitionists. Fakie and the team was superb: raw, loud and melodic. Sean’s guitar solos ate at the receptive audiences brains and they enjoyed it, so much that everyone joined in their rendition of U2’s One Love. The local Redland lads other hits were Greenboy, Hook and Slightly Twisted.

Whilst Tone Porno was waiting for his customary Jager bombs at the bar, Joel Sonic bought the house down with his unbelievably tremendous moves on drums. Joel had an amazingly massive smile throughout the entire set which just proves if you love the music, the music will love you. Problems with the audio did not deter a large crowd from forming to enjoy Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time. Even better, they played the lovely Chillis’ Hump de Bump. This reviewer was glad not to see the burlesque dancer; it takes too much focus away from this vibrant duo’s musical abilities.

On the brink of their new Mohhammad Smith EP release, Black Market had a heavy back beat with funky yet retro guitar and vocals. Idyllically punk and politically inclined, the headlining act sounded similar to the Vandals but with a Brisvegas twist. Vocalist Toby Market oozed the remnants of Shane McGowan’s rough, poetic voice. This was exploited best in their soft, easy listening song Fallen. This well established Brisbane band gave it to the crowd and the crowd went wild. They were catchy and very likable.

This was not a Grungefest. It was a Brisbane music fest that played from very different genres – from punk to garage to heavy metal to indie (and the genre list goes on). The audio master Rollo (vocalist from Blowhard ) had a few difficulties throughout the event, but who wouldn’t with twenty two bands to cover? This was corrected by the fantastic musical interludes between bands. All individual and all unique, every band put on an amazing show. I take my hat off to the organisers Tone and Michelle for putting on a well constructed excellent event.

And who could forget the signs the short skirt brigade held up all day that read: “love love, hate hate fuck, and I can’t take it anymore save the short skirt.”