The Living End @ SydneyEntertainment Centre(08/05/09)

Tue 12th May, 2009 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE LIVING END SHOW HERE.

The Living End have been a staple in the Australian rock ‘n roll diet for 15 years. Having grown up to the defiant sounds of Prisoner Of Society, it was with great anticipation that I headed to the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

The Entertainment Centre’s rather conservative 11 o – Å“clock curfew meant that Tame Impala kicked off proceedings at the family-friendly time of 7:20pm. Even without a full-length album to their name, the Perth trio have established a cult following and a musical resume to die for. In typical fashion, Tame Impala unassumingly cruised through their set. Songs including Half Full Glass Of Wine, Skeleton Tiger and Desire Be, Desire Go delivered an inimitable style of classic psych rock; blending serious riffs with grand grooves.

Maintaining the Western Australian presence, Gyroscope were next onstage. Despite being renowned for putting on power-pumped performances, the band seemed lost in the vast arena. A rare, and almost ironic highlight came when the band segued the bridge of Fast Girl into a short cover of the Midnight Oil classic Beds Are Burning.

As Gyroscope departed, the air within the Entertainment Centre was rife with anticipation. The mere sight of Scott Owen’s double bass being sound-checked sent the crowd into a frenzy. The tension built up for almost half an hour as the venue reached near capacity. Finally, the lights went out.

When The Living End took to the stage the relief was palpable. As it was the Raise The Alarm tour, the boys emerged amongst the chaos of flashing red and blue lights, and straight away they launched into the tour’s title track. The crowd reacted with excitement, and rightly so. The Living End has the luxury of filling their sets with a back catalogue overflowing with hits.

For anyone who lost track, the anthem count ended up near the dozen mark. Following on from Raise The Alarm, a rousing rendition of Roll On delivered the true Living End experience: Scott Owen is standing on his upright bass, Chris Cheney is ripping into his Gretsch White Falcon guitar and Andy Strachan is pounding the drums like he will break through them.

The scene replicates for over an hour as the band seamlessly fuse classics such as Who’s Gonna Save Us and Second Solution with tracks off their most recent LP White Noise including Loaded Gun, Moment In The Sun, and Waiting For The Silence, an album that Cheney describes as one the band are “extremely proud of”.

Following the oft-played All Torn Down a mesmerising jam session ensued. The mellow jazz sounds gradually built up as Cheney hammered at his guitar with an open bottle of beer. As the jam hit its climax he arched his back, chugging the foamy liquid with a jubilant smile on his face.

The Living End has an incredible presence, traversing the stage with their instruments in tow. Scott is widely known for lifting the huge bass over his head, as well as standing on it, and tonight is no exception. With fists pumping the air and big sing-along choruses, it is obvious that this band is made for the live setting. They symbolise the ideal blood, sweat and tears rock band.

The appeal of their songs is undeniable, as Prisoner of Society sends the audience into a state of controlled anarchy. The song provides quite a spectacle as the entire venue jumps up and down in unison. The main set finishes with a powerful version of White Noise. After a short breather, the band return to play the reggae sounds of Sum Of Us, before delivering a spine-tingling version of Wake Up. Fittingly the night ends with West End Riot, a track that leaves the entire crowd thrashing around in a riot of their own.

Try as I might, I couldn’t spot an unhappy punter walking out of the Entertainment Centre. The Living End provides rock – Å“n roll entertainment in its purest form: a soundtrack for stupid, brainless behaviour where nobody cares what you do and everybody is on the same side. For an hour and a half, everyone forgets about anything else, and that’s all you can ask for.