Does It Offend You, Yeah? @The Prince Bandroom, Melbourne(05/08/2011)

Sun 7th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It seemed that last week the future of British indie-rock dance outfit, Does It Offend You, Yeah? looked bleak. Lead singer James Rushent made this announcement to fans at Splendour in the Grass, causing a wave of speculation that the band may soon go their separate ways for good. Having only just released their second album, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You, earlier this year, the rumours made for a dramatic lead up to the band’s festival sideshows. Their highly anticipated departure from Australia, possibly forever, had fans lining up along the street well before the doors of The Prince Bandroom were due to open.

Melbourne’s Northeast Party House opened the night with a rocking set full of danceable synth-heavy tunes. The sprightly six-piece were bursting with catchy rhythms and guitar melodies, demonstrating a cohesiveness on stage well beyond their youth. The boys were lively and fun, succeeding in pulling quite a crowd from the bar to the stage with their infectious energy.

Purple Sneakers DJ’s must be given due credit for their set, as they had the very difficult task of captivating a crowd clearly anxious for the main attraction to begin. There were perhaps a few more cross-fades than one would like to hear in a single evening, but the set of heavily reverberated pop hits and catchy beats was well received all the same.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? wasted no time in making the most of their new material. Right from the opening chords of Wrestler, their frenetic, fast-paced dancing dominated the stage. Living up to his reputation as a wildly energetic frontman, Rushent jumped around the stage, even onto the drum kit before accidentally tripping over an amplifier and falling on the floor. The set was punctuated with his short bursts of entertaining commentary (albeit full of very colourful language). Battle Royal was dedicated to “aAll of you who have been following us since Year 1!” At this point, anyone who’d forgotten to bring their dancing shoes was swallowed up by the merciless moshpit.

Though there were more than enough opportunities for dancing, those with more pop sensitivities were given a chance to sing along to some of the chorally dominant songs. Many of these are rarely performed outside of Australia as Rushent aptly observed, “Aussies are always more up for a bit of pop.” Somewhat disappointingly, Dawn of the Dead was given no more airtime than a stripped-back verse and a quick chorus. The band were, however, soon forgiven for this as they followed with an explosive performance of We Are Rockstars.

After a brief exit (enough time for a quick smoke break), they returned to the stage for an encore. Epic Last Song was arguably the standout of the evening, though it stung of a sweet bitterness at it’s literal applications.

At the end of the set, bruised, battered and dance-weary fans seized setlists, posters, drumsticks – any piece of memorabilia that wasn’t nailed down, before trekking downstairs to the bar for the official after party with the band. While Does It Offend You, Yeah? celebrated the end of the tour, they also hinted that a return to the country would never be ruled out (one can only hope.) At least if we are going to miss their presence from our shores for a while, they sure went out with one epic last gig.