Live Review: Veruca Salt, Bloods, Black Zeros

To get things out of the way right off the bat, I can confirm that yes, there was a fight at the crash barrier during the Veruca Salt set. While definitely not a highlight of the night in anyone’s book, I can also confirm that the combatants appeared to be people old enough to know better. It appears that age is no barrier to stupidity or boorishness. But I digress. Instead let us focus on happier recollections of the evening including the unalloyed pleasure to be found in the watching of women fronting rock bands.

The scuzzy Sydney-based trio Black Zeros were first out of the gate, underpinning Joe Jackson’s throaty vocals and slurred licks with interesting textures and a nice take on the fundamentals of classic alt-rock. This is a band that understands that when you let go of the preoccupation that comes with trying to re-invent the wheel, there’s a fair chance fun will be had and good tunes will be written. One to watch.

There’s much to recommend a bit of rabble-rousing raucousness, an attribute that local band Bloods have in spades. Theirs is an enviable mix of stomp, slinky bass and crunchy jangly guitar with nice vocal harmonies that gets the punters nodding along and bellowing approbation at the end of each number. Bloods wear their influences – The Pixies, Ramones – loud and proud with set highlights new single, Penelope, Into My Arms and Nothing But Time.

If the howling that presaged Veruca Salt’s entrance on stage was any indication, despite all the years, the break-up and the blood under the bridge, their fans have missed them. Saturday’s kick drum header read “Malcolm” and the show itself was a seamless blend of the signature – Stoneface, With David Bowie, Forsythia and of course the monster hit, Seether, packed deep into the setlist – and the new – Holy and Museum Of Broken Relationships – generating clap-alongs, singalongs and happy punters bouncing. While there are those (fools) who have dismissed the tour as mere filthy lucre, the fact that the musicians on stage were having as much fun as the fans on the floor makes that charge hard to stick. As does the sell-out crowds and the addition of extra shows to the dates roster. Which I guess will just have to hold us until the next tour is announced.