Live Review: Bleeding Knees Club, The Pinheads, TV Dinners

Melbourne pop-punks TV Dinners fire up the stage as the first act of the evening. Punters enter the Northcote Social Club bandroom and energetically escape the evening chill in their bouncy songs.   

The Pinheads ignite chaos from their opening song and the energy of the band mixing with the crowd is contagious. Although frontman Jez Player is in and out of the crowd, the stage is cramping with the band's other five members and the constant stream of stage divers. We overhear one girl says to her friend, "That's a bold move," as the rest of their entourage head straight for the thick of it. She's not wrong.

Back on stage, Player abruptly throws a record into the crowd without warning. A couple of punters snatch and grab at the (now damaged) merchandise before the jumping circle expands and we're all immersed within their psychedelic rock'n'roll rhythms.

Their set passes by in a loud blur of leaping excitement and, although it's now their closing song, Player is barefoot and ready for more as he stands upon the drum kit. Guitarists Luke Player and Al Webster are soon shredding on the floor and their frontman's back in the crowd swigging someone's drink, while drummer James Kates has tucked himself under the corner of a huge spray-painted banner that reads 'BKC'.

As Bleeding Knees Club begin their set, we eagerly reassemble our mosh pit. Have Fun fuels us and the bandroom is a bouncing sea of hands, heads and feet. The crowdsurfing doesn't stop, and we even get a "Melbourne! Melbourne! Melbourne!" cheer. Despite the security guard's attempts to protect daring punters from themselves, Truth Or Dare only encourages the stage diving.

After encountering some sound difficulties we're given impromptu covers of Vengaboy's Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! and the chorus from Tubthumping ("I get knocked down/but I get up again"). Soon everything's back in order and bassist Gio Alexander wishes us (an early or late?) Happy New Years.  

The single behind the tour, Chew The Gum, receives an outstanding reception and we're all behind its high energy to keep the mosh pit bouncing. We catch (almost all) of the persistent stage divers during Teenage Girls, after which frontman Alex Wall says he thinks he has "chipped his teeth". He's probably not the only one.  

Closing with Spaghetti, the boys get among the anarchy of their crowd; Wall crowdsurfs with his guitar, joined by lead guitarist Michael Barker before they're both returned to the stage and say farewell without an encore, but with a big thanks.