Live Review: The Decline, Cross Joint, Blindspot, Freak Vibe, Enemy Minds, Engage

The Boston was the place to be for punk cravings on Friday night, playing a line-up of stellar punk outfits as part of the bar's Perth United series. Six bands hit the stage on and off in quick succession, making way for a hard and fast gig, with seldom time to sit back and take a breather. This was definitely a gig where the punter was in it for the long haul.

The night kicked off with the likes of local acts Engage and Enemy Minds, both successfully stoking the fires for any punk rockers lucky to head down early. Warming up the crowd, both bands rocked out the venue.

Freak Vibe attempted to take punk fashion in a different direction, abandoning plastic bin bags for some very snazzy jackets whilst hitting the stage. Looking like a bunch of English geezers you'd find at a pommy pub rather than a bunch of drug addled anarchists, the drunken requests from the punters for the band to take their clothes off was received with mixed reception - the jackets stayed on.

One of the stand-out acts of the night was Blindspot, whose tunes drew a wide range of reactions from the crowd. They ripped into punkish anthems with rhythmic furore and a high degree of moshed-out antics. An emotional high point was when the band played Thin Ice, a poignant track on the shortcomings of meth use - making you think before drowning yourself in an Irish cider-fuelled mosh pit.

Cross Joint also brought the roof down with an instant tsunami of overdrive guitars and an unrelenting back beat from the drums. Heavier than a lead balloon, their sound was something to get lost in. With the band's infectious energy, a few stragglers among the front row crashed around as if they were having epileptic fit. It was clear Cross Joint were the perfect pseudo hype man to get the crowd warmed up.

Hype for The Decline was rife, with one punter going so far as to announce one of the band members to be Jesus. Bringing the Perth United night to a close, good vibes were felt from the band. Playing ripe and catchy pop-punk, it was awesome to see the band actually matching the punters' enthusiasm by allowing the same accusatory punter to sing with the band for a brief moment while on stage - and that, friends, is what punk is all about.