Live Review: Gay Paris, The Peep Tempel & The Stiffys

Dressed in sailor outfits The Stiffys are a drum and bass two-piece that have a whole lot of quirky charm. As they start to play it becomes clear that these guys are not merely stiff, they are raging hard-ons, cocked and loaded and ready to hose us down with a selection of odes to their erect schlongs. The Stiffys play tunes off their 13-minute debut album that is available as a free download from their website. Armed with puerile senses of humour, they play songs such as Erections!Everybody!, Boners and I've Got A Stiffy that will either put a smile on your face or leave you feeling weirded-out and a little unclean.

It takes time to warm to The Peep Tempel who trash the place with their ferocious punk-rock noise. The three-piece play energetically with a mathematical precision that is ridiculously tight. Existing at the intersection of punk, garage and rock'n'roll there's a touch of The Saints meets AC/DC about these guys with a bit of The Stooges thrown in for good measure. The Peep Tempel's tunes are filled with the kind of energy that gets the crowd moving as our attention is held by chaotic guitar licks backed by muscular rhythms. An adrenaline-charged set from a band that's as sharp as razors.

Gay Paris arrive to start the party and lighten the mood after the edgy nervous energy of The Peep Tempel. The hirsute quartet from Sydney sport beards that are more impressive than recent efforts by The Black Seeds/Grinderman to grow facial hair. There is nothing particularly gay about Gay Paris, whose gritty, bluesy rock with slight funk inflections is accompanied by a solid party-starting bounce. Gay Paris seem kind of goofy, but burn a whole lot of high octane when they start playing. The lads are in town to celebrate the release of The Demarcation Of Joseph Hollybone, which is the first single to be pulled from their forthcoming second album The Last Good Party. Judging from the electricity coming off the stage, their idea of a party is perhaps the wildest you can imagine. It is not long before frontman Luke Monks vociferously expresses disappointment that the largely sober crowd isn't responding with the same enthusiastic energy the band bring. Nonetheless it doesn't stop him from drinking his way through the set, stripping down to his underpants and generally just having a good time. Gay Paris give us an epic set of beer-guzzling pub-rock anthems and feelgood party vibes in the most entertaining way imaginable.