OFF!, Hard-Ons, Epics @Annandale Hotel, Sydney(7/12/11)

Thu 8th Dec, 2011 in Gig Reviews

With a similar pedigree of the headliners, Epics are a group that has come from bits and pieces of some of the roughest and toughest of Sydney’s punk and hardcore scene; amongst them Grand Fatal, Lungs and Between the Devil and the Deep. They kicked things off in a typically aggressive and energetic fashion, with vocalist Nick O’Grady certainly making his presence felt as he stomped about the place, before moving to perform on top of the bar and into the crowd. Recalling The Bronx at their most cut-throat levels of aggression, the band had a full appreciation of the weight that came with the acts they were opening for. As far as first impressions go, Epics made this one last as long as their multiple tattoos. Definitely ones to watch on the local circuit.

It’s safe to say that Blackie and Ray – the two mainstays of evergreen punks the Hard-Ons – know the Annandale’s sticky floors and dodgy P.A.s like the back of their hands. Even after all these years, however, their sets never tend to feel routine or phoned-in. Rather, they still play with all the vigour and enthusiasm that got them there to begin with, ripping into song after song with little fuss aside from the occasional joke about half-caste babies or Blue Oyster Cult. Even with the recent departure of Peter Kostic (also of Regurgitator and Front End Loader), new sticksman Murray Ruse has picked up with considerable ease, jamming through a series of newer tunes and older favourites that have some of the more leather-clad (and leather-faced) punters howling along with raised glasses in hand. A solid reminder of why the Hard-Ons will never say die.

The waiting game was frustratingly a major factor, with both support bands finishing early and the headliners still managing to come on late. As soon as all four members of OFF! arrived on-stage, however, not a single thing else mattered. Black Thoughts flew past in a blur of screeched vocals, buzzsaw guitar and a mass of flying bodies leaping from the stage, while Darkness did exactly the same with literally milliseconds of stopover time between the two. Chaos was inevitable from the get-go, but the intensity levels were beyond boiling point as the crowd surged, spilled out and slammed about the venue like they would never attend another punk rock show.

In case you hadn’t picked up the hints from the song descriptions – not to mention the all-caps/exclamation-marked band name – OFF! performs hardcore punk at its most traditional and primitive form; spat from the mouth of a man who was there at the start, original Black Flag vocalist and Circle Jerks founder Keith Morris. The 56-year-old may look like an estranged, surly uncle you wouldn’t want to chance upon in the proverbial dark alley, but you’ll be damned straight to Hell if he isn’t still one of the most commanding and charismatic frontmen in the business. When he’s scowling, snarling and shouting his way through the band’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-them bursts of high-octane punk, his eyes glare out into the audience with the kind of fire you’re unlikely to find in any neck-tattooed tough guy fronting a band that’s half his age. Put it this way: few could sell songs like Now I’m Pissed and Fuck People more convincingly than Morris. When he’s simply talking in-between songs, however, the entire audience shuts up and gives him their undivided attention. He muses on everything from The Gun Club to early rehearsals of Black Flag, in which towering bassist Steve McDonald (also of Redd Kross) would visit alongside his brother.

The performance was that perfect balance of unhinged raw energy and the kind of cohesive precision that can only come with the wear-and-tear of veteran status. Although the four musicians that make up OFF! – Morris, McDonald, guitarist Dimitri Coats and drummer Mario Rubalcaba – have all spent countless years in countless bands, it’s clear that they have collectively invested in something that they all love, excited by its freshness and the new take on a vintage sound. OFF! is, at its core, a passion project of the highest order.

When an encore was demanded, it was revealed that the band had no songs left in their arsenal – so, they simply played Black Thoughts and Darkness again. The audience lost their shit just as much as they did when the set started. With the perfect venue and a high-spirited atmosphere, OFF! delivered a wild punk show that transcended generations to simply bring out the delinquent within. If you didn’t want to fuck on the floor and break shit when it was all said and done, you were at the wrong show.