So…apparently punk is not dead… at least not in Canberra.
The scene at UC’s Zierholz proved as much last Saturday night. As the rain fell hard and the idea of a fun night out seemed further and further out of reach. Instead, I found myself amongst the sea of unlikely revellers (I say unlikely due to Canberra’s tendency to avoid rainy nights out!) who turned up to the uni early, all keen to see veteran rockers Frenzal Rhomb return to the Territory and see how much they’ve aged.
To open the night, local support act, No Assumption served up their rendition of punk rock that had the crowd inching towards the stage to get their fix. While it was early days – and many of the eager carousers marshalled the bar – the young four-piece received a positive response from the curious crowd, drawing in the passive listeners and really turning it on for a few of their devoted fans.
Then I Exist hit the stage and really knew how to hit the crowd’s buttons. It was gritty, raw, heavy and straight up rock. With a loyal Canberra following, (determined by the large numbers and also the people singing along to their tunes) it’s clear that the sextet have been at this game for a while. Front man Jake W owned the stage and had the crowd moshing to his every whim. The band punched through song after song, and although they seemed to all sound the same after a while, it certainly held the crowd’s attention and undoubtedly left them wanting more: the perfect set up for the onslaught that was about to occur.
By 10pm, pints were flowing fluently and the German beers were clearly starting to take hold of the audience. By the time Frenzal made their way to the front, there’d already been multiple black eyes and bloody noses, so there was evidently plenty of more blood to be shed. The giddy crowd could be seen sporting an array of new and old merchandise, ranging from cheeky, purposefully lame cartoon figures to a Ramones rip-off shirt citing “Johnny Ramone was in a f*cken good band but he was a ****.” For an Aussie punk rock band that formed in ’92 they were still doing well, pulling a decent crowd that were genuinely keen to see them give hell.
Frenzal set a frenetic pace as they launched into fan favourites Mummy Doesn’t Know You’re a Nazi, There’s your Dad, Not My Friend, Racist and A Punch in The Face. Some of these were interjected with frantic songs lasting no more than one minute each. It was pretty tricky to keep up, but the devoted crowd didn’t seem to miss a beat. The dudes rocked out like dudes, and the ladies gave it a crack too. It was crazy…. but a good time seemed to be had by all – even those mildly injured in the fray. It’s safe to say the punk rockers proved that they’ve still got it, and no doubt everyone in the room will be there supporting them when they grace the Canberra stage again.
Click here to read our interview with Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ MacDougall.
Images by Brianna Olzen Photography
