Cosmic PsychosMelbourne punks Clowns headlined Crowbar last evening but tonight they open as the much-hyped ‘special guests’, and with typical enthusiasm, vocalist Stevie is over the railing and amongst the crowd within two seconds of the opening notes ringing out. He’s soon up clambering on the rails themselves, his yelped vocals and manic energy the perfect counterpoint to the precision grooves being chiselled out behind him. Stevie cajoles the crowd to move closer to the front of the stage and launches himself upon them, whilst the band unleash such a stream of cool Bronx-esque songs that it almost feels like a privilege having them open proceedings.
Local punk stalwarts The Flangipanis soon unleash their own stream of 4ZZZ anthems, tracks like Getting Shit For Free, Just Because It Fits Doesn’t Mean You Have To Fuck It and Nice Haircut Dickhead delivered with a sense of old school sneering irreverence which combined with unrelenting vigour makes for a fun concoction. Frontwoman Jodie Lawlor indulges her nudist bent by playing topless for the latter half of the set, which includes self-explanatory tracks like Going To Work With A Great Big Hangover, I Want To Fuck You In The Mouth (a “love song” apparently) and I’m Drunk So What Fuck You, augmented by a tidy cover of Mach Pelican’s Dance In Chicago.
There’s a great vibe inside the awesomely dingy confines of the sold out Crowbar, which soon turns to adulation as the legendary Cosmic Psychos open with the old one-two punch of Pub and Nice Day To Go To The Pub (it’s awesome seeing fists pumping as words mouth the immortal line “It’s a nice day for a schnitzel!”). The trio seem in fine fettle, frontman Knighty in particular pulling those incredible fuzzy bottom-end sounds as he barks out brilliantly ludicrous diatribes such as C’mon Cunt and Lead You Astray. Guitarist Mad Macca takes a brief break from delivering a shredding masterclass to deliver the hilarious Fuckwit City — the first taste of the Psychos’ new album Cum The Raw Prawn which is being launched tonight — before they return to banging out old classics such as Dead In A Ditch and the viciously acerbic Custom Credit. There’s a drunken camaraderie on display all throughout the room — both amidst the band and the crowd — which is epitomised when they unleash new single Bitter, Not Better (for just the second time ever apparently) and its refrain “It’s fucking bullshit, maaaate!” echoes jubilantly around the room. Drummer Dean Muller offers a strange round of I’m Henry VIII I Am, before they finish a typically awesome set with Go The Hack, Thank Your Ma For The Rabbits and their staple Lost Cause. There’s a lot of life left in this old dog indeed.
