Cherry Bar is the hottest venue in town. It’s not just because of the naked goddess painting hanging on the wall in which the Athenian or Roman statue has strange breast placement. No, I’m speaking (or rather writing) literally. The Cherry Bar is small, easily filled to capacity, and once you add stage lights, a live band and bake for thirty minutes, you’ve got a sweat pit. And that single ceiling fan, although spinning as fast as it can against the hot, dense air, achieves nothing. However, while this may not seem ideal for those of us who enjoy a higher ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide in our air, it does make a cool live gig environment.

The Meanies had no trouble packing out this venue. In fact, neither did their support, Melbourne four piece The Once Overs. Their sound wasn’t anything mind blowing but it did seem original, like a fusion of surf riffs, rock beats and some garage punk singing. It was one hell of a front man that drew the crowd. Sammy A on vocals with his Michael Hutchence style haircut danced like he was having a seizure. Using pure energy and enthusiasm he actually vibrated himself from one side of the stage to the other. He pulled out every stop in order to entertain his crowd; cowbell, tambourine, sensual dancing and smacking his own arse!?! When their set was over he quickly gave an erratic solo performance of Happy Birthday to one lucky crowd member. These guys are definitely a band worth seeing live.

The Meanies appeared without fuss. Link was getting into the performance as he always does by throwing himself about the stage, which deserved a little extra credit tonight considering it looked hotter than the sun on stage. Thankfully, there were some generous punters down the front willing to cool him off by throwing beer on him.

It was kind of disappointing to see the band reel off the same set list as their last live show. It’s a good set but after so many years they should be able to mix it up each time they play. They kicked off with Just What You Need, Rhyming Logic and Darkside. The crowd were enjoying themselves but there was a lack of energy and no mosh which would have been so easily formed back when The Meanies were in their prime.

Although the entire Meanies audience doesn’t go crazy anymore there are always a couple of fans down the front that try and pick up the slack. Tonight, it was four guys smashing beers, shouting lyrics, climbing onstage and rolling around in spilt beer with Link. And good on them because for those four the entire gig had a different feel. It was probably one of the best gigs of their lives.

The days when you can get up close enough to the singer of your favourite band that you’re actually clinging to their leg may be gone. Nowadays, performing is a case of combining a set list, some banter, stage moves and an encore. The Meanies don’t do encores. Link finishes the final song, Mr Authority, and falls from the stage into his four biggest and drunkest fans – more singers should take a leaf out of Link’s – œGuide to Audience Interaction’.