Live Review: DZ Deathrays

It was the release of their second record, Black Rat, that saw DZ Deathrays return to Adelaide and a sold-out Jive bar. Although the small venue was empty early on, every punter in the room paid their undivided attention to openers, Perth garage-rock trio FOAM. The hoarse, angst-ridden vocals of frontman Joel Martin, when teamed with Harley Barnaby behind the heavy basslines and Jackson Hawdon on drums, created a sound reminiscent to that of early Nirvana. It seems grunge is making a comeback in the Australian music scene and FOAM are right in the midst of it. Second to play were Sydney's Palms. Stepping away from the sound of '90s grunge, the guys' surf-rock vibes cast a lighter mood over the room. As more punters filed in, Palms took time to introduce themselves, as Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Playing better-known songs like Love, The Summer Is Done With Us and This Last Year, the venue was filling quickly, the crowd was slowly turning into a mosh and everyone was just about ready to go mental for DZ Deathrays.

A long break between bands saw an impatient chant of “DZ” until they finally walked onstage. There are only really two words to sum up a DZ gig; fucking insane. Their album recordings, while incredible, don't do the band justice, at all. Although they were helped out on a couple of newer tracks by Palms guitarist Dion Ford, these guys are proof that two is enough. There's no real need for anything or anyone else onstage when you have the commanding stage presence and pure, mastered skill that they have. They kicked things off with a bang, launching into Bloodstreams favourite No Sleep. The crowd was quick to get rowdy with bodies being literally thrown around the room. Shirts were torn and shoes went flying. Punters clambered up onstage and climbed onto the balcony only to dive back into the heaving mass of sweaty punters shouting lyrics back in the faces of the headliners.

The boys wrapped up their stellar set with an insane live rendition of Gina Works At Hearts, followed by a quick encore that saw frontman Shane Parsons being passed around the crowd, guitar in hand. As the set came to an end, the sweat-soaked t-shirts and red faces made their way out and not a punter in the crowd was left underwhelmed. DZ Deathrays are a band that has to be seen live to be truly appreciated, and Black Rat shows how much the band has grown since the release of Bloodstreams. These guys are just going to continue to get bigger and better over the coming years, and they're definitely a band worth seeing while they're still playing intimate venues. It might not be too long before they're hitting arenas.