Live Review: Amyl & The Sniffers, Vertigo, Bitch Diesel, Pleasure Model

Tonight The Curtin plays host to four young Aussie bands keen to start a riot with punk attitude and explosively loud rock'n'roll. It's also great to see that three out of the four bands hail from Melbourne where there clearly seems to be a retro-punk scene emerging.

Parking in Carlton gets the better of us so, arriving late, we only catch the tail end of Pleasure Model doing their ferocious Detroit-garage thing for a small-but-excited crowd of punters who got here early. Bitch Diesel is slang for the cheapest champagne young ladies wanting to maintain a pretence of being classy will guzzle by the litre, but it's also the name of Melbourne's all-girl three-piece who come at us with the brattish charm of The Runaways. They deliver a spirit of '77 Silver Jubilee-esque, old-school punk that reaches out across the Atlantic for some crazy hair-metal inspiration. After a tentative and feedback-laden start, these girls seem to have a lot of fun, blasting us away with a short-but-solid set. Behind a facade of fierce attitude, Bitch Diesel play it tight, harnessing the elemental power of a three-piece to brilliant effect. Bassist Skidmark is an awe-inspiring player who looks the part in skin-tight black latex, tossing bitchy one-liners at the crowd in between songs. Bitch Diesel create a space that will be interesting to watch in the coming months.

Brisvegas outfit Vertigo comprises four angsty lads who play fast and furious, rocking hard and heavy at deafening volumes. They lean towards metal not punk. Vocalist Hamish Litster is a screamer and in the depths of the maelstrom Vertigo create it's hard not to wonder if he will be able to speak when this gig is over. Litster's so intense it seems that this rather mild and unassuming dude is deeply angry about something, kind of like an office worker venting about a paper-pushing life in administration. It takes the crowd about 20 minutes to realise that they should be doing something like moshing and stage-diving instead of just standing around generally looking stunned. As the set progresses, James Martoo's wild guitar solos start to pop out of the mix more obviously. It's tools down after 40 minutes and we are left to enjoy the silence until the house starts spinning garage.

After the hardnosed antics of Vertigo, Amyl & The Sniffers are an altogether more fun proposition: mullets and retro-'70s bogan attitude pushing an infectious take on Aussie pub rock-gone-punk that's looking to incite a riot. At this time of night, the crowd is ready to party. The moshpit is alive and kicking right from the get-go. Amyl & The Sniffers bring a boisterous good time. No one seems to be sniffing, but many take their chances and stage-dive. Frontwoman and Caltex Cowgirl Amy Taylor is a livewire and she brings the good time everyone is seeking. Amyl & The Sniffers take us back to the heady days of angular and jerky old-school punk, and songs that deliver their message in just three minutes or less. Taylor may get off on the fierce displays of attitude, but mainly she has a heart of gold. Fans adore Taylor's onstage antics, especially when she's pouring champagne into the mouths of front-row punters before spraying the crowd with what's left of the bottle. There's nothing plastic about the punk that Taylor and her bandmates are dealing. They come on strong, putting plenty of heart and soul into their music. The crowd just laps up every minute of the show, which suggests that Amyl & The Sniffers have found their formula for success and are hotly tipped for bigger and better things in the coming months. They rip through an hour-long set, but running out of tunes means no encore.