Live Review: The Drones, Batpiss

An impressive horde had amassed for openers Batpiss. The Melbourne three-piece repaid the compliment by executing sludgy garage rock at a consistent volume of +11. There wasn't much interaction — well any in fact — with the crowd other than a brief "how's it going Perth?" but their commanding physical presence, semi-permanent grimaces and sledgehammer tones communicated all the menace they could wish to have intended.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By, The Drones recreated the bulk of that album and other early material with the aid of original drummer Christian Strybosch and the comparatively recent addition of Steve Hesketh on keys. Whereas their most recent full-length statement, I See Seaweed, was complex and impressively wordy, the regression to the primitive brutality of their former years seemed to be refreshing for the band. In particular, main man Gareth Liddiard's performance was magnetic as he lurched about the stage, all berserker eyes, sinewy limbs and the most protruding neck cables in Aussie rock. The toll on the band's instruments was enough to make you wince as auxiliary guitarist Dan Luscombe negotiated several instrument breakdowns and on numerous occasions Liddiard dropped to his knees to flog his F/X units within a decibel of their lives.

Just like Wait Long By the River... (and you know the rest), the high energy numbers were crammed into the beginning. After a mighty Shark Fin Blues and an adrenaline-flooded Baby² the desperate misery of Locust and the morbid curiosity of The Best You Can Believe In took hold. Hesketh, seemingly employed on a mostly casual basis, stoked up some atmosphere during these quiet moments with eerie, reflective organ sounds. During tune-ups, Liddiard charmed the fans as only he can. After enquiring as to what's happening in Perth, the enviable success of our local teams inspired him to venture that "football is for people with no brains," and furthermore that  "this song [The Best You Can Believe In] was written in Perth, so show some pride in your shit city." He knows us all too well. A one-song encore comprised of a cover of Kev Carmody's River Of Tears made for a doom-laden finish with the black-clad Fiona Kitschin nailing down an uncompromisingly sombre groove.