Stalwart volume-rockers Asteroid B-612 ripped through their set with typical energy, and a concerted effort to ensure that they’re known as the loudest band to hit Sydney’s stages. The cobwebs were certainly cleared out early tonight, as guitarist Johnny Casino strangled his guitar’s tones with his trademark dirty Detroit feel.

Playing a selection of recent tunes, the band’s uncompromising assault again bolstered their reputation as one of the harder-working hard rock bands on the Australian scene. A guest appearance by The Celibate Rifles’ Kent Steedman was a pleasant surprise for those early – and lucky – enough to arrive in time to catch the band’s set.

The next band had most of the crowd holding their breath. Could it be true? Could The Lime Spiders take to the stage and give the punters a dose of the disaffected rock that they so effectively purveyed in the 1980s?

Sorry to say, the answer was no.

Mick Blood – now living in Perth – huskily greeted the crowd and launched into the set. With a running sheet that included Beyond The Fringe, Slave Girl, Rapid Eye Movement, 25th Hour and Out Of Control, the swelled crowd that had obviously made an effort to dump the kids and catch a former favourite live act. A cover of the disaffected classic I’m Bored added to the set of familiar originals, but it must be said that the ragged run-through did neither the Spiders or Iggy any musical favours.

Stage invasion by a bunch of green-haired go-go girls provided some distractions during the set – especially when one of the gyrating gals managed to knock out an important guitar cable during a particularly inopportune moment. “That was completely unplanned,” Blood was heard to remark, pausing for breath.

Unfortunately, the band seemed unable to recapture past performance heights – at least in the eyes of many of the crowd. This reviewer hadn’t had a chance to see the band in their glory days, and while (musically speaking) the musicians sounded great – occasional lapses in togetherness notwithstanding – Blood’s increasingly ragged vocals and tired stage moves seemed to bespeak of a weariness that’s not conducive to great rock moments. Admittedly, the band had landed the support by emailing Wayne Kramer and asking to play, and it’s true that they’d had sparse rehearsal for this set… but sometimes you need something more to carry it off.

By the end of the slot, Blood conceded that this may be the last time an audience got to see The Lime Spiders. Alas, it wasn’t news that was met with much protestation from punters.

MC5/DKT3 were next up, and as Michael Davis, Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson the room exploded. Grins were wreathed on both band and crowd as tunes long heard on poor recordings were blown into in-your-face life. Sister Anne, Ramblin’ Rose... the band’s calls to arms and stories of rebellion – teenage or otherwise – blossomed under the group’s energy.

Let’s set one thing irrevocably straight, though; tonight belonged heart and soul to Mudhoney main-man Mark Arm. While it’s true that the original MC5 players were the reason people came to the gig, Arm’s turns at the mic were thoroughly electrifying. It bespeaks of the belief in their songs that the band has that they were able to step back from the spotlight and allow guests vocalists of such calibre to shine. His rendition of Over And Over was phenomenal, a cluster-bomb of energy and rabble-rousing. As a vocalist bearing most of the responsibility of the show, Arm’s assuredness and passion fit perfectly.

Evan Dando’s vocal slots were, by and large, pretty average. It’s a shame, as the singer obviously was enjoying being on stage, rocking out pretty comprehensively when he got the chance. But there’s something almost tragic about watching his ambling around the stage – often midway through a tune – when a sense of completing the task at hand was absent. Acquitting himself reasonably well on Shakin’ Street, it seemed that the subtleties (!) of Teenage Lust were beyond the Lemonheads main man.

(A brief diversion here; seeing Evan Dando of late invariably puts this reviewer in mind of the Peanuts character Pigpen. You know – the one with the ball of dirt that trails after him? Except in the singer’s case, it’s a ball of could-have-been, of opportunities for greatness ghosting him – a sort of tragic reminder of the promise that has, seemingly, slipped from his grasp over the last couple of years. While he’s famed for punching hapless individuals who ask “What happened to your career?”, it sometimes seems a valid question, sadly so.)

Radio Birdman vocalist Rob Younger took to the stage for a couple of songs to a warm reaction from the punters. Stand-in guitarist Deniz Tek seemed to burn a little brighter with his old bandmate on stage, and the evening’s renditions of Looking At You and Gotta Keep Moving were highlights. Not least because they were filled with the singer’s well-known reanimated-corpse flailing dancing, which certainly added a bit of spectacle to an otherwise straight ahead – though always intriguing—rock show, which reached its high point with a tribute to Ray Charles.

In all, DKT/MC5 put in a more spirited performance this evening than had been witnessed at their Splendour In The Grass date. Perhaps it was a smaller crowd, perhaps it was a less problematic sound-system, but the band had the Gaelic rocking pretty intently this evening. And while they’d go on to nail their live performance to the floor in a more emphatic manner at the next night’s gig at Coogee Live – perhaps because it was one of the sets that was being recorded for posterity? – this evening’s performance saw a deservedly legendary group make an emphatic Australian returns from beyond the record-bin grave. Sure, there’s an element of I-Remember-These-Guys-When cultural tourism for the bulk of the line-up tonight, but occasionally they recaptured the dream.

Kick out the jams, motherfuckers, indeed.