The Ataris, Stealing O'Neal @The HiFi, Melbourne (23/10/09)

Mon 26th Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Big news everybody! On Friday night I somehow slipped back in time and wound up at a concert back in 2003, the same year that George Bush invaded Iraq, global audiences were ultimately disappointed with the lacklustre Matrix sequels and popular music of the time consisted of pop punk bands like Sum 41, Good Charlotte, Hoobastank and The Ataris.

Now if we flash forward back to the present day we can see that The Ataris are a band that has truly stood the test of time, because, unlike their fellow punk brethren; whom it seems have all fallen by the wayside, The Ataris have continued to evolve and adapt, and remain as relevant to their target audience today as they were back then; this point was made clear to me the moment I stepped through the doorway to the HiFi bar on Friday night.

Opening for The Ataris were local punk rockers made good Stealing O’Neal, who delivered a great set in the lead up to the headline act, vocalist Chris Scott and the rest of the band built the energy in the crowd up with a set full of tight, upbeat pop rock songs.

Not letting the tempo die down The Ataris quickly took to the stage, and though they were a man down, due to personal issues, lead singer Kristopher Roe and the rest of The Ataris led the eager crowd through a set peppered with hits like So Long Astoria, The Hero Dies in This One, In This Diary and their classic cover of Don Henley’s Boys of Summer; my personal highlight.

By this point, which was about two thirds of the way through the set, the crowd had been worked up into a frenzy, with Roe instigating a thrashing mosh pit of excited young gentlemen, right below the stage. Strongly finishing off their set with the epic prog rock-esque finale, The Ataris shortly came back out to deliver an encore that started with a ballad written by Roe, to his girlfriend and ended with a young guy launched himself into the bobbing crowd, having snuck backstage in order to live out his rock n roll fantasy.

All in all The Ataris delivered a tight pop punk performance, and satisfied many an avid fan.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE