Live Review: Cosmic Psychos, Sixfthick, Happy Times

It's been a bit of a weird year for Melbourne's Cosmic Psychos. Like Anvil and Sixto Rodriguez before them, the long-running yob punk lads have gone from toiling in obscurity and playing in front of a cult following to having a whole new audience thanks to the excellent documentary, Cosmic Psychos: Blokes You Can Trust. That new audience shows up tonight to mix it with the old faithful, sink some local beers and get a little bit rowdy. Because it is, after all, a nice day to go to the pub.

In keeping with the Psychos' pervasive sense of fun, even if in name only, locals Happy Times are opening tonight. There's an odd mix - songs about World War II-era naval conflict set to a backing of thumping proto-punk - but it's met with approval as the crowd accumulates.

It's been a while since SixFtHick have graced Brisbane stages with their sweaty and untamed show. Probably too long if you ask the punters standing down by the barrier as the band's set gets under way. Nevertheless, the time off hasn't done anything to the band's swampy, ugly rock'n'roll.   

Where docos about bands like Anvil focus on how these groups got passed over in spite of their influence, Blokes' charm is that is shows the Cosmic Psychos as a band that's been rather quietly going about their business of always turning in killer albums for 30-odd years. That means that tonight the band have an excellent opportunity to play an incredibly solid 'hits' set to the section of tonight's crowd that's had their interest in the band piqued by the movie. And it's hard to think of a better formal introduction for those people than tonight's show. The band's signature sound screams across the Hi-Fi P.A. and sounds something like Motörhead or the MC5 covering Waltzing Matilda. After all those years and beers, these old guys still sound bloody awesome. The fuzzy rumblings of Ross Knight's bass come across as powerful as a backhoe. Over on the six-string, John McKeering works through the band's repertoire of deceptively simple punk riffs and intricate stadium rock shred-o-rama while Dean Muller bluntly pounds the shit out of the kit. Between songs, Knight serves as the perfectly laconic ringleader for the Psychos' circus. His asides to songs, often running no longer than two or three short sentences, appear to make all the newcomers feel welcome.

A sweaty and drunken orgy of Australian-ness, the Psychos leave ears ringing and faces with slightly askew smiles. As Blokes You Can Trust continues to gain traction locally and abroad, it's clear that the Cosmic Psychos deserve all the recognition that is finally coming their way.