Live Review: Mickey Avalon - The Hi-Fi

Back in the days of MySpace, a musician's status was not measured by their actual abilities or talent, but by how many virtual 'friends' they had via social networking media and whose 'top 8' they had the honour of being in. Trashy Hollywood scenester Mickey Avalon was amid this MySpace revolution in 2006 and gained thousands of MySpace fans based on his friendship with Paris Hilton and a 'badass' drug-addict demise.

Supporting Avalon was local indie-rapper Kid Mac, who brought his bizarre, painful mixture of dubstep, hip hop and pop/punk to the stage. Rapping sloppily over a mash-up of The Black Eyed Peas and Skrillex, the performance was further cheapened by chants of 'Mickey Fuckin' Avalon!' over Mac's sub-par live act.

As Mickey Avalon hit the stage, bringing with him two sultry female dancers, he lazed around wearing a sailor hat, slurring the lyrics to old-school crowd pleaser, Waiting To Die. It became clear that Avalon was not in the mental state to be performing for fans as he exercised his signature second-rate drug-induced raps. As Mr. Right was presented to the crowd, Avalon indistinguishably muttered some random incorrect lyrics and danced sleazily in front of the bored-looking backing DJ. Although old fans in the crowd may have forgivingly reminisced over such tracks, it was when Avalon performed new material that it all went awry. Chaotically punching out Drugs and Dance, two twisted tracks that sound like they were created by an inebriated guy on GarageBand, Avalon stumbled into the audience, bathing his fans in his own sweat.

Six years on from his MySpace-led rise, Avalon is still kicking it. However his poor live performance reminded us why he should have stayed in the realm of cyberspace.