Live Review: Frenzal Rhomb, Sixfthick, Undead Apes

Tonight marks another full house of excited fans as Frenzal Rhomb return to The Hi-Fi. The beers start flowing early as locals Undead Apes get a chance to do their thing. The four-piece prove to the milling crowd that their set is growing into one of Brisbane's most enjoyable as they deftly carve out their own unique sound in the zone of Ramones/Hard-Ons bubblegum punk.

Brisbane institution SixFtHick are tonight's main support and the erratic gyrations of the Corbett brothers through the strains of the band's swamp/garage punk are as enjoyable as always.

In between songs tonight Frenzal Rhomb's front man Jay Whalley is telling the crowd that he's just turned 40, getting married next week and Smoko At The Pet Food Factory has been nominated for the hard rock/heavy metal ARIA. You might think that any combination of these milestones – or the fact that Frenzal Rhomb have now been a band for 20 years – has made these punk rock jokesters grow up, but their set proves otherwise. The juvenile thrill of the band's naughty words songs (Johnny Ramone Was In A Fucken Good Band But He Was A Cunt (Gabba Gabba You Suck), Russel Crowe's Band and World's Fuckedest Cunt) still gets a thunderous response from the crowd, and there's something compelling, if not fascinating, about watching a real live official grown-up petulantly shouting “Get fucked you fucking fuckwit”. More than just eliciting a response from the crowd with 'the hits' tonight though, Frenzal seem to still be having fun playing. The newer, harmony-laden numbers like Cockroach Light Switch and 5000 Cigarettes, as well as set staples Chemotherapy and Home And Away are all played with unfailing smiles. And the enthusiasm that Frenzal Rhomb inject into the numbers is returned by the people standing up the front of The Hi-Fi, who break out into a sloppy, sweaty and drunk mosh pit.

Though Frenzal seem to be keeping their famous between song banter to a minimum tonight, they still find time in the set to simultaneously take the piss and keep themselves amused. In between numbers like White World and Ship Of Beers, guitarist Lindsay McDougall, bassist Tom Crease and drummer Gordy Foreman audition for the role of Whalley's wedding band; the trio smirkingly playing a handful of cringe-worthy wedding music covers, touching on the godawful songbooks of Huey Lewis & The News, Billy Idol and Spin Doctors. The crowd's reaction to these efforts is mixed, but Frenzal seem to be having fun with them. When the house lights come up after You Can't Move Into My House, they illuminate a crowd wearing big grins. All of which seem to indicate that Frenzal have no need to grow up. Hooray for Peter Pan complexes!