Project Mayhem, CharlieGreaser, Dr Johnson @ TheBasement, Canberra(10/04/2010)

Sun 11th Apr, 2010 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT OUR PICS HERE!

2010 has been kind to Project Mayhem with their “Party At Your House” national tour and album success. The same cannot be said of their gig at the Basement on Saturday. What felt more like your pets funeral than a rock show, the small and solemn crowd barely swayed or stomped to the catchy hardcore anthems being pumped from the Perth punksters. Locals Dr Johnson did their best to breathe life into the congregation with their fun but generic punk rock, delivering power chord after power chord of crowd-pleasing tunes.

Psychobilly vets, Charlie Greaser rolled up with their confusing blend of metal and rockabilly punk, leaving a general feeling of meh. Neither of the support bands came close to parallelling the powerhouse stage antics of Project Mayhem, who definitely brought the party to our house.

Between the sounds of crickets chirping and pool cues clacking, Dr Johnson shuffled onto the stage unnoticed, perhaps something to do with their complete lack of image. Looking like a cross between a 1999 garage band and your average year 9 music class, their musical creativity wasn’t much better. That being said, their addictive breed of pop punk was fairly enjoyable, with a good mix of resounding “woah-oh” chorus lines behind infectious melodies and toe-tapping drums. Technically, they were spot on. And it was boring. What they lacked in originality they made up for with witty in between song quips ‘Are all 16 of us having a good time?’ and tongue in cheek covers. Granted it took until the second chorus of their punked up Taylor Swift cover for it to become recognisable, but hearing “I Am Australian” played at the Basement was an experience unlike any other.

Second up, Charlie Greaser barely batted an eyelid. Perhaps more entertaining than the band itself was the couple of drunk loons running around knocking people over. The clearly seasoned rockers knew their way around their instruments (double bass anyone?) but despite their experience, showed no more originality than Dr Johnson. Once again, they lacked coherency as a band and an image with what appeared to be a Metallica fan cc. 1985 on guitar and Tre Cool hitting up the vocals. Despite their lack of catchy appeal, the musicality and technique of this psychobilliy mish-mash was quite clever. A few choice guitar solos and a rather bizarre and confusing cover of Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ couldn’t save Charlie Greaser as they fell hard and flat with their lack of charming stage presence. One finds oneself begging for the last song (and for the drunk girl to put her boobs away).

Hells yes. Finally. Project Mayhem. By now the drunks had disappeared and what remained was a rather sad and sorry looking bunch of people; not the impression you want to give a first time visiting band of your hometown. The stylish and dashing Perth boys hit the stage and all the right notes with their smooth rocker pornstar swagger. Vocalist Ben was indeed a sight to behold with a mane of hair, lack of shirt and to top off the perfect punk image, a tambourine. Not to mention the boy could crack the windows of Notre Dame with his pipes. Along with looking like a cohesive band, they played like one too with a listenable blend of southern rock guitar riffs and hardcore vocals.

Taking crowd interaction to a new level, frontman Ben wove his way in and out of the crowd, getting all up in grills, leaving the audience feeling slightly uneasy and disconcerted, but all with a sense of fun, nonetheless. Technical guitar solos really showcased the band’s talent, and they achieved a consistently catchy vibe throughout their set. Project Mayhem blew the roof off the Basement and it’s truly a shame not more people were there to see it.

P.S: Giving the FasterLouder.com reviewer a free CD doesn’t harm your chances at a good wrap. Thanks, Project Mayhem!

CHECK OUT OUR PICS HERE!