Gang of Four @ The Gaelic,Sydney (1/3/2011)

Sat 5th Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Imagine discovering post-punk through internet piracy and well-worn mixtapes, with no easy access to its most popular names. And by that, I don’t mean the long, long wait that Australian fans endured for a Gang of Four tour – I mean a total lack of post-punk in record stores, television, and pop culture in general. And in this context, imagine being so taken by it that you start a likeminded band. And then imagine being taken on an overseas tour by one of your heroes.

This happened for Rebuilding the Rights of Statues (aka Re-TROS ), a Chinese group who opened the night’s bill. Looking absolutely ecstatic to be onstage, they performed with an infectious amount of energy and earned themselves a huge response from the early crowd. And for good reason – they played some great songs, and offered a unique take on the genre despite wearing their influences clearly on their sleeve – one of the set’s high points was the playful Bela Lugosi’s Coming Back, while a set-closing cover of Gang of Four’s Damaged Goods straddled the line between faux-pas and bold act of reverence. Which side it fell on depends on who you ask.

I Heart Hiroshima, on the other hand, were much more straightforward. Returning to the stage for this tour after a long period of silence, they played a set of concise indie-pop that seemed to make as much as possible from two largely effect-less guitars and drumming powerhouse Susie Patten. And it sounded great, with the group’s energetic sound benefiting greatly from some savvy interplay between the two guitars, making them sound lean and sprightly, yet with a strangely grandiose element. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, though, and the same makeup of the band that makes them so unique also causes them to get a bit repetitious.

It’s been a long wait for Gang of Four’s Australian fans. Their now-classic debut Entertainment! was released over thirty years ago now, and since then their reputation has continued to swell, particularly in the wake of a reformation in 2004, which happened amid a heap of bands citing them as a major influence. But they finally made it, brought out by the punk and metal-oriented Soundwave festival, on which they were without doubt black sheep.

So with plenty of the group’s audience having little to get excited about on the Soundwave lineup, they sold out their somewhat small sideshow at The Gaelic. Packed full of fans raging from young punters to a big contingent of suit-wearing, middle-aged former punks, the venue erupted when the group finally took the stage. And though new opener You’ll Never Pay For The Farm didn’t quite set hearts ablaze, the following 1-2 punch of Entertainment!’s Not Great Men and Ether generated a huge response.

The band may be older guys now, but they’re still an exciting prospect, and hyperactive, slightly disheveled vocalist Jon King contrasts really well with the collected, suit-clad guitarist Andy Gill. And while the other two members have only been in the group for five years, they provide a solid backing to the aforementioned pair. And together they seemed to have a blast, tearing through hits like a feedback-drenched Anthrax, To Hell With Poverty!, At Home He’s A Tourist and I Love A Man In Uniform.

And after an encore that included a comprehensive on-stage smashing of a microwave and a related, accidental striking of bassist Thomas McNiece’s hand, they closed the set the same way that openers Re-TROS did, tearing through a great rendition of Damaged Goods. During the song, Jon looked up at his young Chinese proteges and smiled ear to ear as they danced on the balcony, having the time of their lives. Just like the rest of the room.