Regurgitator, Disasteradio,Step-Panther @ Manning Bar,Sydney (13/8/11)

Thu 18th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

There is a jarring disconnect that lies between what Step-Panther do and how they do it. What they do is jangly slacker pop with hints of surf rock and next to no trace of pretension. It’s bare-bones fun that’s best served up with a smile and a loose boogie – and yet how the band does it leaves many in the audience cold. They’re practically statues, mumbling and stuttering their way through between-song banter and their jittery nerves turning what should have been a fun rock gig into something considerably more awkward. They’d loosened the screws by the time their finale of Rock & Roll Alien (entire lyric set: “Rock & roll alien/Yeah! Yeah!”) rolled around, but it was unfortunately a case of too little, too late. Step-Panther are a good band with good songs – but good luck convincing them of that.

Expecting weirdness – let alone accepting it – is part and parcel of being a Regurgitator fan. Where else but at a Gurge show would a chubby Kiwi nerd with a laptop and kitschy synths be treated like some kind of god? Such was the curious case of Luke Rowell – better known as Disasteradio – who mixed a myriad of bleeps, bloops, 8-bit noise and chiptones with his mostly-vocodered voice. When he wasn’t roboticising his vocals, he could be found bouncing in time to the music, doing star jumps and trying to get the crowd going as nuts as he was – all the while ensuring that his glasses didn’t slip off his nose. It felt like Revenge of the Nerds mixed with Daft Punk, Crystal Castles and a Sega Genesis – and, as bizarre as that may sound, it worked magnificently. The audience was on his side the whole way through – laughing with him, never at him; proudly letting their freak flags fly. A triumphant set that embraced oddity and gave living proof to the fact that every geek will have their day.

By the time Regurgitator’s trio of hooded figures slunk onto stage and kicked into the bounce-off-the-walls power pop of Blood and Spunk, it was clear that the Manning had no trouble getting rid of the few remaining tickets on the door. The place was packed, and Regurgitator milked that for all it was worth by delivering ninety minutes of their longserving brand of pop-infused craziness. With such a vast catalogue to choose from – recently expanded with the thoroughly enjoyable SuperHappyFuntimeFriends album – there’s arguably never been a better time to see the band in the live environment.

Not only are they creating an on-the-fly pick and mix from all over their discography, they’re executing it with the kind of tightness that can only develop through decades of playing live. They’re also not afraid to make their setlists ecclectic to the point of damn-near schizophrenia, moving seamless from the brassy hip-hop swaggering of The Drop to the circle pit-inducing hardcore punk of Distractions. Perhaps the best aspect of it all, however, is just how much enjoyment the Gurge themselves are getting out of their live shows – whether Quan is busting out his ironic MC posteuring in All Fake Everything or Ben Ely is leading the crowd in a massive singalong to Black Bugs, they ensure that every last one of their loud-and-proud fans gets just as much out of the show as they put in.

Finishing somewhat ubiquitously with ! (The Song Formerly Known As), the song still maintains the spirit of the triumphant dorks that recorded it all those years ago. It’s still an anti-anthem for everything that’s ever been cool in this country, and the Sydney crowd embraces it with utter joy. While many bands try to live in the now and ignore their past, the Gurge are clearly a band that are proud of it – and, with classics like this to end your night on, how can you blame them? Things don’t get no better, indeed.