Regurgitator, Disasteradio,Super Best Friends @ ANU Bar,Canberra (14/8/11)

Tue 16th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Local act Super Best Friends opened the night with a short but energetic set that got the crowd hyped up for New Zealand’s Disasteradio; the stage name of New Zealand computer musician Luke Rowell.

Disasteradio lived and breathed the phrase “Dance like nobody’s watching.” He moved with a lack of inhibition that could only be matched by drunken work colleagues at a staff Christmas party, and played a one-man show with the enthusiasm of a ten-piece rock band. Fast electronic sounds were balanced by a heavy thumping bass, and occasionally layered with creative sound effects fashioned by Rowell sticking the microphone deep in his mouth and playing it like an instrument. The audience seemed overwhelmed at first and weren’t sure how to react to such an unusual performer. Disasteradio won them over with pure enthusiasm.

After Disasteradio’s set, the crowd swelled. People tousled for spots close to the barriers, and the air was thick with anticipation. Unfortunately Regurgitator were running unfashionably late, so the buzz peaked about 45 minutes too early.

When they finally did take the stage in matching skeleton suits, all was forgiven. They opened with Blood and Spunk, and the excitement in the jam-packed bar was palpable. The audience chanted, “Go! Go! Go!” until it didn’t sound like a real word anymore. It was great to see Regurgitator carry the same infectious, high energy sound from their albums into a live show – on more than one occasion it looked like lead singer Quan Yeoman was going to hit his head on the roof beam above the stage from jumping too high.

They followed with another favourite I Wanna Be a Nudist, and again, the audience were putty in Yeoman’s hands. He cried “Scream!” and the crowd screamed. And only at a Regurgitator concert would a room full of adults chant “I will lick your a**hole,” or “I’ve sucked a lot of c**k to get where I am,” as they did when Regurgitator played songs of the same titles.

The ‘gurge reminded us that they aren’t an average rock band when drummer Peter Kostic busted out an instrumental solo on his mobile phone, just for novelty’s sake. Their set wasn’t perfect. Yeoman came in at the wrong time a couple of times, and they messed up the first few bars of some other songs. Fortunately, Polyester Girl, which everyone was waiting to hear, was flawless.

The crowd was much more responsive to older songs like Bong in My Eye and The Drop, so their encore performance – where they donned plastic sunglasses and played three tracks that the audience didn’t seem to know as well, was a bit of a let down. That said, their breathless, runaway train-like performance was invigorating and unpredictable. Regurgitator fans – you’ll be disappointed if you missed this one.