Guttermouth, Stolen Youth &The Pints @ The Hi-Fi,Brisbane (04/12/09)

Sat 2nd Jan, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Check out all the pics from this manic show right here on FL.

Apologies go to the first support as no amount of internet sleuthing has lead me closer to finding out their name. This is only justified by the fact that it wasn’t even on the promoter’s website. Again apologies and unfortunately, let’s move on.

Fortunately The Pints are easily identified via one who is only known as Parker – smashing the drums while still managing to sing with zest. While automatically receiving cool points with Propagandhi and Descendents shirts, it’s their ability to play punk reminiscent of days gone by combined with a few upstrokes which draw appreciation. Continuing with the nicknames, Mittens’ bass resonates through the floor while his ability to yell on stage would surely leave him sounding like he’d just smoked 500 cigarettes upon leaving the stage. If it has to be hard, fast and full of energy than these three gents are worth your time. They’re definitely worth more of mine.

Rounding out the triad of support acts was a band I feel ashamed of not having heard of before. The five gents from Stolen Youth brought quite the following of their own to The Hi-Fi and, after witnessing their performance, there is no wondering why. Despite being dealt the card of playing the Brisbane venue with the reputation for capricious sound, this didn’t seem to bother the unit at all. Throughout the set Sean’s vocals faded in and out and there were moments when Tom’s guitar petered out under yet another barrage of bass. Despite these technical issues, the musical faults were few and far between – reflected by the sweat covering those who were exiting the front when their set finished.

Sadly, it wouldn’t be a Guttermouth crowd if patrons weren’t behaving badly. Leading by example, frontman Mark Adkins walked straight on the stage and started paying out on a guy in a Misfits shirt and a leftover Movember mo. From here it wasn’t just downhill – it went at a pace that more resembled a fall of a cliff. The kicker is that, for the first time ever, Mark appeared moderately sober.

While it was a set list of all the old favourites including She’s Got The Look, Do The Hustle, 123 Slam and Chicken Box , the crowd got truly unruly during Lipstick. While Adkins may be the only surviving original member in the line-up, the whole band got shirty about the amount of missiles that were directed their way. Adkins even tried to get the matching pair of a shoe that was thrown at him. The highlight was when he jumped into the crowd to punch someone: what’s a little assault between bands and fans?

The poor behaviour continued up the back where fights were breaking out and people were being pushed around. Guttermouth continued with their own punches in the form of Trinket Trading , Tick Toothing , Toothless , Tired , Tramps and …Or the 7t’s. While the band put on arguably one of the best performances they’ve ever done in this country, which can only come down to a controllable level of sobriety amongst members, the crowd upheld the reputation of out-of-control punks. When you’ve got the front man calling chicks prostitutes and trying to beat people, not much else can be expected.