Friday night saw Seminal punk outfit The Meanies, close their Silver Jubilee tour at the Hi-Fi Bar to an unruly mob of fans in the mosh pit. Three piece punk hardcore group Batpiss, unleashed their hard hitting, loud, uncompromising assault on the eardrums to copious head thrashing and mohawked punters. Notable fashion shout outs to the dude with the heavily studded, “Who killed spiky jacket” emblazoned on the back of his jacket and the chick in the Meanie’s T-Shirt, and black jacket sans bottoms. Now that’s punk rock.
As The Meanies take to the stage, Link with crutches in tow, gives new meaning to “break a leg.” His broken foot sustained during their Adelaide show, doesn’t dampen his antics. Opening with Never, frenetic riffs fly forth, kamikaze-like and with the first guttural scream it’s on. “I can’t read the set list” exclaims Link, commenting on the green dots generated all round the joint by a stage light prop. “It’s romantic. Grab the girl next to you and dance.” No fear, stalwart bassist Wally Meanie screams out song-names before they’re played.
“Dark Side of My Mind” incites a mosh pit that doesn’t abate until the last note is played. Jaws’ prowess with his wah-wah effects pedal is show cased in “Lyin” and drummer Ringo keeps the pace fast and steady. Link is using his crutches as a prop to lift his legs in unison with the beat and delights us with his sporadic, electric shock like dance spasms. The hits spew forth in quick succession; “Sorry Bout the Violence”, their number one indie hit-“10% Weird”, “Conan”, and “Gangrenous.”
“There’s a Gap” their brand new song on their new album is given an airing and after a hilarious “premature” appearance by Link for the encore, The Meanies end their memorable set with “one of their favourites” Bored’s “Feed the Dog.” There’s something inexplicable about punk rock that captures a primal mood, fires up the neurotransmitters, and makes you feel alive, more than any other genre of music. Maybe it’s the fast pace, and certainly it’s because The Meanies are a truly, fucking exceptional band, doing the punters proud on their Silver Jubilee tour.
LOVED: Link’s dance moves.
HATED: Fuckwits throwing empty cans at punter’s heads.
DRANK: Gin and Tonic.
Photos by Mary Boukouvalas
First published in Beat Magazine in October 2014
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