Millencolin @ HQ, Adelaide(03/04/08)

Sat 5th Apr, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Check out all the photos HERE

Swedish punk outfit Millencolin have been regular tourers of Australia and as a result have built up a massive, loyal, fan base. So when Machine 15 hit the shelves last week it was no surprise that we were one of the first places they chose to tour it. I guess the only worry with bands touring with new records is there tendency to play too much new stuff and miss out some of the older songs that everyone loves. However this wasn’t to be the case as Millencolin played one of the best sets I’ve seen them play.

Another shit night of weather in Adelaide, I’m sure the farmers are happy, but I’d rather not be getting wet as walk to HQ. There is a great mix of punters at the show old and new and everything in between.

First up were Stolen Youth, who I reckon I have seen about 100 times in the support slots at punk gigs. They always put on a pretty good show, but tonight was easily the best I’ve ever seen them play. They played for about 50 minutes, which is the longest I’ve seen them play. From their opener Dumb & Dumber it was obvious they had been practising, they were tight, their sound was awesome and apart from trying to play two different songs at once they looked like a very professional unit (well as much as you can in a punk band). What I like most about these guys is their love of the bands they open for, you can tell they were just stoked to be at a Millencolin gig and know they are onto a good thing – play for just under an hour then get to hang out with the punk elite backstage, what else could you want?

Millencolin hit the stage to a massive cheer and flew straight into Penguins and Polar Bears, which had the whole crowd singing and the moshpit going mental. They followed this up with the title track from their new album Machine 15, then with Ray, Botanic Mistress, Cash or Clash and Bullion, which kept the older fans happy and kept the moshpit going flat out.

The bands energy was off the chart. Mathias and Erik on guitars were brilliant, Fredrik up the back couldnt wipe the smile off his face and Nikola up front was awesome. Theres a lot to be said about a band that can get on stage night after night and still look like they are enjoying every second.

The guys played a great range of songs old and new, but my personal highlight was Mr Clean, which the Stolen Youth guys had joked during their set to try to get them to play. Other highlights included Black Eye, a half acoustic half full band The Ballad, E20 Norr (Battery Check), Fox and they finished the main set with Olympic and No Cigar.

Millencolin returned after a short break to play a 4 song encore of Farewell my Hell, the current radio hit Detox, Pepper and they finished the night with Kemp.

Millencolin were awesome, I doubt there would have been a disappointed punter in the place. I saw another band the previous night called the Smashing somethings, Billy Corgan should really have come along tonight to see how a band can engage an audience and put on a show.

Check out all the photos HERE