Spazzys @ St Jeromes,Melbourne 12/12/04

Fri 17th Dec, 2004 in Gig Reviews

When I first heard about a Spazzys gig at St Jeromes, I was excited. I always make a point of seeing the Spazzys live around Melbourne, and I knew this would be a gig to remember. And I will. It’s tattooed on my memory, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.

The crowd seemed uptight, tired and cranky – which was expected after everyone had trekked back from Meredith – but this gig was supposed to be fun. The fact the band came on an hour late didn’t help ease tension, but eventually they surfaced. Previously they’ve always put on an awesome show, no matter what. Even if they’ve played poorly, it’s still been fun. This time it was lacking enjoyment, excitement, and enthusiasm.

Lucy was unusually surly, and the occasional jabs the band make at the deserving were devoid of the usual spontaneity, coming across as contrived. Running through the set faster than I’ve seen them do before, they covered all the usual bases, except the most obvious one: playing the new single.

It’s slightly worrying when the songs provoking the best reactions, are the covers in the set. They’re the songs they played best three years ago, and the songs they play best now. However, those Poison and Ramones covers are always welcomed by this punter, and were definitely the set highlights. Another pleasant surprise was seeing just how much Alice has improved as drummer. She was rocking harder than Lucy and Kat combined, and she stole the show.

Whether they were too tired, or were just in bad moods, you could tell they didn’t want to be there. Every one of their songs lost its spark. There were no harmonies, there was nothing special, and compared to the reception they usually receive, the audience response was abysmal. There are only so many times you can laugh at a band calling someone a “c*nt” or poking fun at their own ineptness. And I think then I passed my limit.

Hopefully this poor performance is just a small hiccup, and isn’t what we should come to expect from a band I’ve previously found delightful. I went to this gig a fan, and unfortunately left a critic.