Nick Oliveri is not a name to pass over when looking at the past couple of decades of American rock music. As an original member of stoner rock legends Kyuss, and the maniac ex-bass player for Queens of the Stone Age, Oliveri certainly has a reputation for himself – one that stirs up images of insanely heavy performances that have resulted in arrests, violent attacks and all other kinds of fun. So when the man’s almost-decade-old Mondo Generator hit Melbourne for a Friday night showdown, Oliveri devotees and all round metal fans made sure they made an appearance at the Hi Fi Bar.

Mondo Generator hit the stage in the most casual of fashions after having roadied for themselves and from there the latest work from Dead Planet was heavily featured throughout the set – which makes sense considering Oliveri really only took the band on full time after his QOTSA split in 2004. Numbers such Basket Case and Lie Detector really showed off Oliveri’s skill of screaming and Ian Flannon on guitar acted as the quintessential rocker as he charged about back and forth on stage behind the front man during such heavy tracks, which of course kept the stage energy high to suit the rampaging vocals.

At times more entertaining than the band, the two to three dozen moshers down the front made sure the security got a work out for the evening. Constant attempts at crowd surfing inevitably failed with the lack of a tightly packed pit, as well as one particularly massive fan who thought it funny to throw anyone that reached him at head height as far as he could. The classic failing stage dive occurred at least twice and one punter managed to be literally spear tackled into the crowd by a security guard after attempting to rock out beside Oliveri. Whilst all of this was fun to watch, it was hardly a representation of the crowd as a whole, who were for the most part quite subdued in the not-so-full HiFi surroundings.

A few QOTSA numbers made an appearance throughout the set, which were more than appreciated judging by the cheers. The more mellow Gonna Leave You off Songs for the Deaf entered surprisingly after a bunch of Mondo head thrashers, and demonstrated Oliveri’s more melodic style that was fairly rare throughout. Sonic Slow Motion Trails seemed to be the only real Mondo track that followed this approach and wasn’t simply screamed. The concluding addition of another QOTSA favourite, Autopilot, again took the melodic approach and even included some singing participation from the crowd during the chorus.

Mondo Generator finished their main set after an hour and left many in the crowd with an odd sense of disappointment that the man known for such erratic and intense behaviour had done little more than scream and leave. Returning for an encore that included You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire, the trio still didn’t manage to leave any scars for the crowd, though at least there might be a few bruised heads for those pushed straight to the ground by security.