Shihad, Regular John @ theCorner Hotel, Melbourne(25/09/09)

Mon 28th Sep, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Regular John have embarked on a relentless touring schedule since the release of their debut album The Peaceful Atom Is A Bomb earlier this year, which may or may not be the reason they had trouble remembering if it was Sydney or Perth where they are from. Aesthetically and thematically Regular John sound like a psychedelic, Johnny Thunders induced desert rock band, the kind that prefers to spell love “F.U.C.K.”. Their sound and spelling wasn’t an issue for anyone except maybe one punter who vehemently proclaimed they ruined his night.

In future Regular John would perhaps benefit from breaking such a dry sound in favour of a little more dynamic. Despite this they made an impression on the semi-reluctant audience, most of who seemed relatively familiar with the discordant 4-piece. A familiarity made all the more popular by the radio-friendly Transmitter and Language that have boomed from Triple J for some time. In a way similar to the Datsuns, Regular John’s love for noise is affably refined into three to four minute tracks. The simplicity of their operation is best presented live and over time with the persistence of even more touring, will hopefully develop an exciting niche that’s not going to be threatening or unfamiliar to a larger mainstream audience. Despite their perceived simplicity Regular John are a refreshing and seemingly ambitious act that will continue to distance themselves from the horde of critically revered ape-like mongrel act’s that attempt to verify regression as the most original sound in music today.

This year Shihad celebrate their 21st anniversary as a band, which is mighty impressive given they’ve retained almost the same line-up throughout those 21 years. Shihad have accomplished a huge amount in their time and lauded critical appraisal from many over the globe, such as Metallica’s Kirk Hammet, Iggy Pop and Faith No More with whom they shared stages in Australia and across the world on multiple occasions. My Mind’s Sedate opened the night and relayed its anti-consumerist theme through the crowd with the same stable explosion as heard on The General Electric 10-years ago. To begin with the sound was great and captured the band’s relentless persistence and consistency, up until the jagged opening of Day Will Come where the sound hit a rough patch and took some time to recover. Fortunately not deterring their sold-out crowd who still devoured each song with the delight and passion the band shared on-stage.

Shihad’s awesome momentum continually drove song-after-song into the eager crowd and only momentarily waned when the band approached an unfamiliar track from their early days, which was met indifferently by most of the crowd. Those that weren’t aging, balding, relics of youth from 1988 would have knowingly preferred some of those stand-out tracks, such as Home Again, Shot In The Head or For All The Young Fascists. But, understandably it’d be a huge challenge to fit the best of their 7-albums into a one hour show.

It was Jon Toogood that reaffirmed excitement in the performance and retained the audience’s interest with some cautiously planned acrobatics, surreptitiously guiding his way behind the crowd to find a position high behind the sound desk where he concluded the song in the most stimulating way he could. Then choosing not to walk but rather surf his way along the crowd to the front of the stage where he was met by the guitar he so wilfully abandoned at the end of his two-minute display. Shihad’s strength is in their front-man; his persona has the ability to transcend their music at times and is strongest when crowd enthusiasm wanes or momentum is lost. This approach has been a key to their success over the years and is never limited by his duties as a guitarist.

In favour of progression the band launched into Empty Shell, later Pacifier, a track from their latest album Beautiful Machine and a new untitled track that could more easily be attributed to Nine Inch Nails in its approach and industrial-like structure. Crowd favourites Run and Comfort Me from the Pacifier era were also included prior to the night’s conclusion.

For a band that has flirted with larger mainstream attention for almost it’s entire career Shihad capably maintain deserved relevance whilst newer act’s such as Cog, Karnivool, Mammal and the Butterfly Effect slip-by and share their own critical appraisal. Despite the well documented climate and development of the music industry Shihad will always maintain a relevance that few bands could ever wish to attain. I can’t image that bands like Cog, Karnivool, Mammal or the Butterfly Effect will hold as much relevance after the same time in the scene, that is, if those bands are able to spend an equally amazing 21 years in the industry.

HECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE