Brisbane’s resident proto-punk cavemen The Dangermen start proceedings tonight, delivering a raw set of tunes to a rapidly filling Troubadour. The guitar cuts through the room with all the sting of obvious influences the Saints or Powder Monkeys as singer Zoltane the Maniac slurs the words like a wound up, South Brisbane, Iggy Pop. The band are sounding tight tonight, and breeze through staples like Time Waster and Shipwrecked but really nail it when they take down the tempo with a brand new song Fine Line, which crawls along like a Pop/Williamson dirge or the Dead Boys at their sleaziest. The set ends all too quickly, the band making their mark with a typically over the top rock ending.

The Vegas Kings take the stage next, and dive headlong in to a set of manic blues/punk that doesn’t let up for the next half hour. The band’s duel guitar attack of Pete Collins on fuzz rhythm and Ben Dougherty’s lightning fast blues licks is propelled by skinsman Angus Chapman’s relentless freight train drumming. The band gain momentum through the set, coming to a high point with the simmering Love Like Hell, where Dougherty’s laconic vocals are punctuated by Collins’ booming back-ups. It’s at this point the crowd start really moving and the band responds by speeding it up again for the closing numbers, blasting them out like the Scientists played at 45 rpm.

Mach Pelican are an Australian institution, a group of Japanese students who met each other in Perth, started a band, and went on to become one of the most respected live bands in the country. Ten years later, not a lot has changed, they still call Australia home and, as it turns out, they still put on one of the best rock shows you’re likely to see. The eager mob of punters assembling at the stage is testament to the loyalty the band has earned over the last decade with their “Rock ‘n’ Roll Honesty”.

The only trouble is that two songs in to their set drummer Toshi Maeda’s kick drum skin receives a hole in it requiring a brand new drum to be scouted out from neighbouring venues, leaving the band with nothing to do but wait.

All is not lost, though, in the time it takes for most to have a quick ciggie, a drum is found and the show goes on with a renewed intensity. The band waste no time launching in to one of a handful covers of the evening, Ray Columbus and the Invaders’ 1964 hit She’s A Mod. However it’s Radio from the new album Radio Active that really gets things going, especially when backed up by a non-stop slew of older hits like Dance in Chicago, Tokyo and Don’t Leave Me Alone, all played at terminal velocity and without breaks, in the customary style of the Ramones.

While Mach Pelican do take a lot from the Ramones handbook, they inject enough classic power pop hooks and musicianship to sound fresh and original. This is never more evident than in the ballad Airport, where Kei’s lead breaks and Atsu’s walking bass lines are complimented by Toshi’s precision drum fills. The crowd shows their appreciation by dancing with arms spread like aeroplanes and, of course, a bit of quintessential rock lighter waving.

Just like that the set is over, but the Pelican Army support in the crowd is obviously not going to let them get away without an encore, which they deliver with a blistering version of the Queers’ Ursula Finally Has Tits which fired up one punter enough to go for a good old fashioned stage dive, a rare sight in the classy confines of the Troubadour. The band say their thank yous and end a great night of high energy rock ‘n’ roll Oz rock in the Valley.