Live Review: Frenzal Rhomb, Beer Fridge, Bikini Cops

The absence of stage barrier in Amplifier Bar's main room was instantly noticeable, instead it was replaced with a front room, kneecap-inverting fold back riser, virtually guaranteeing that at least one person wasn't going to be walking well the following morning.

The change of barrier had no great effect on openers for the night, Bikini Cops. Their live sound felt like a heavy clashing of The Stooges with Radio Birdman while being fed on a healthy diet of Six Ft Hick — it works and it works well. Although their ridiculously short set didn't feel enough to really reach the heavily packed outside bar, it was raucous and impactful for the scattered crowd inside.

When local punks Beer Fridge fired into Too Late and Killing Off My Brain, kids bum-rushed to the risers. A Beer Fridge set will never be clean or flawless, it's the onstage equivalent of that crusty build-up you get under an Esky lid: sticky, smelly, probably with a high alcohol content and whenever anybody sees it there's probably a fucking good time going on.

Although we didn't get the ceremonial arm-brace bonfire Frenzal Rhomb promised last time, we did get the punk four-piece shattering the room with a fan-selected best of set. After an online poll dictated which tracks would slot into their 25-year retrospective, Frenzal Rhomb and the crowd broke the night in two. A tangled sweaty mess of bodies collapsed onto the stage where Jay Whalley was at his bantering best — with pokes taken at Henry Rollins, Bunbury and the fans — and of course the band delivered an all-out blistering set. Cramming in When My Baby Smiles At Me I Go to Rehab, I Miss My Lung, Methadone, You Can't Move Into My House and Punch In The Face to scratch the surface of the setlist, it doesn't matter how many times you've seen the travelling circus that is Frenzal Rhomb, this is the one you hock a DVD player to see.