It has been a while since the kids of Canberra last got a chance to witness five of our
most talented exports in action. In fact, it was in the middle of 2006 that Young and
Restless last played an all ages show in the nation’s capital, so-needless to say;
Canberra’s youth were well excited.

Supported by three of the many screamo/punk bands Canberra has produced in recent
years, this show at Woden’s Youth Centre was always destined to be energetic with plenty
of crowd participation.

Friend or Enemy were the first to hit the tiny stage and delivered their set with
perfection. Despite their brand of pop punk not being my cup of tea-they still had me
jumping along. Rory (vocalist) really knows how to work a crowd. Whether he is jumping on
top of speaker stacks or simply standing still and singing into a microphone — he has the
crowd hanging off his every word. My mind draws similarities between him and The
Butterfly Effect’s Clint Boge.

Their tracks Look at Me Now and Freedom or Fate really got the crowd
skanking and it was at this point during their set that Friend or Enemy decided to unleash
their free EP on the audience.

Slowburn came on stage with pretty big shoes to fill and disappointed the young
crowd. Their loud, dense and very irritating songs proved too much for some. Many punters
waited outside for the remainder of their set. Personally, I think if you’re into hardcore
then you will like these guys. Their next all ages show is at the Jamison Inn on the 28th of
February.

Those who had left during Slowburn’s set came back to see Burning Years play a
more refined type of hardcore. Guitarists, Josh and Neil, produced some great solos that
drew from the crowd’s energy. Perhaps one criticism I have is the tameness of Mike, the
band’s vocalist. He seemed to lack stage presence and really stood out next to the other
four blokes.

Young and Restless began their set just after nine. Nugie had the crowd electric
after a single drumbeat, Ash and Mark were spectacular (as usual) and Ross was sporting a
new haircut-though as my friend noted: “It’s too long… He’s not pretty anymore.”

Despite all efforts to do so, no one could outshine Karina. She controlled the crowd with
every scream and erratic sway of her hips. She was very nearly taken out by Ash’s guitar on
a number of occasions and was almost dropped whilst crowd surfing.

As soon as Karina left the stage the crowd were quickly herded outside by Youth Centre
staff wanting to close on time. Young and Restless’ forty-five minute set included Dirty
Kicks and Satan which have both enjoyed high rotation on Triple J.

Let’s hope it isn’t another six months before we see Young and Restless play an all ages
show in Canberra.