Live Review: Dune Rats, Sincerely, Grizzly, Horror My Friend

Dune Rats sure know how to put on one hell of a show. The Brisbane boys took to Adelaide's Uni Bar to christen their recently-released self-titled debut album, where they were joined in their celebrations by local supports Horror My Friend and Sincerely, Grizzly.

Horror My Friend were first up, and although the venue was relatively empty early on, the punters slowly filed in throughout the set and took their places on the barrier and around the room. The guys set the tone for the night with some friendly banter with a girl in the front row about how much drummer Al Cristophel looks like Jack Black in School Of Rock. The grunge trio warmed the growing crowd for the Dunies and fellow Adelaideians, Sincerely, Grizzly. The punk-rock trio looked like they were enjoying every moment of their set, from mellow tunes to more upbeat tracks that saw every punter in the room begin to lose their inhibitions, the guys tearing through a killer set that had the crowd well and truly amped for everyone's best mates, the Dunies.

After a very delayed start and several chants of “Dunies” the trio finally made their way onstage – red-eyed and ready to absolutely tear the Uni Bar apart. They launched into the first track off their debut, with Dalai Lama, Big Banana, Marijuana sending the crowd into a frenzy. The floor of the venue could be felt shaking and bouncing under the weight of the heaving mass. Dune Rats know how to make a gig feel more like a house party at which your best friend's band is playing. Guys and girls clambered over the barrier just to hug the guys onstage as if they'd been friends for years, before being escorted off by security, who took it all in good spirits. Punters were being picked up and passed around, dirty sneakers were thrown onstage, prompting a shoey from bassist Brett Jansh, the happiest guy not only in the room, but probably in the world. Whether that was due to being really, really stoned or just stoked to see so many people enjoying themselves, it didn't really matter; everyone in the room was simply soaking up the good vibes and genuinely loving every second of the gig.

The trio played some old favourites mixed in with soon-to-be favourites from their new album. The boys dedicated Pogo to masturbating and another song to “all the ugly girls in the room”. The unmistakable drum intro to Red Light Green Light saw the crowd turn it up another notch. Punters infiltrated the stage, dancing and screaming along with the lyrics. There wasn't really a whole lot security could or would do to stop it. The boys ended their set saying “that was our 'last song', but not really. We haven't played that song yet so just pretend you want an encore for a minute,” before ending a stellar set with Fuck It and Funny Guy.

The lads slowly made their way offstage, but not before jumping into the crowd themselves and gathering around the barrier to take a selfie with the mass of people behind them. As the venue emptied, there wasn't an underwhelmed punter to be seen; everyone was in good spirits and undoubtedly already looking forward to the next gig. After all, there ain't no party like a Dune Rats party.