Live Review: Millencolin, Grenadiers, Blindspot

Blindspot opened the night with their hard, fast, loud punk and started their set with Breakdown In E and Big Fish Little Fish Cardboard Box before ending with My Mate Nick (as lead singer Ben Swain pointed out "if you haven't heard it before, it's a bit rude.") and You're So Phoney.

They are one of Perth's prime examples of what a punk band should be. Great beat, a lot of energy on stage, slightly cocky and they clearly love what they do. As Swain said, "Fuck yeah! Perth bands!" If you love your punk, this is definitely one band you need to check out.

Grenadiers are a punk/rock band from Adelaide. They are one of those bands who always give a solid performance. You know exactly what to expect from them — fast riffs, heavy beats, strong vocals and the power to make you want to get up and dance. While their style leans more towards the rock side, they were a perfect act for the night.

They played their big hit Summer first up as well as great tracks Live Fast, Diabetes, Factotum and Nothing On.

By this stage, the crowd was getting pumped. One guy couldn't even leave Grenadiers' set to go have a cigarette — he just lit up right near the bar.

Before Millencolin even had their kit set up, the mosh was starting to get rowdy. There was already the push and shove with guys trying to get a circle pit started, and the energy was so high you could have powered a small city if we could find a way to farm it.

Millencolin is a band that barely needs any introduction. If you haven't heard Millencolin before, they are the epitome of '90s punk. Their fast short anthems have inspired many a band and, along with their fellow punks from this era (Pennywise, NOFX and Lagwagon), they have withstood the test of time. They have been around since 1992 and have released eight studio albums — the latest True Brew is the reason that they are touring Australia again.

They started their set with Egocentric Man (from the new album), Penguins & Polar Bears (which saw one overexcited punter evicted through the side door) and Twenty Two for a very excited mosh filled with crowdsurfers, circle pits and a few brave women at the front. They also played Sense & Sensibility, Bullion and Man Or Mouse. "Alright let's play a song from new album! In Sweden, it's True Brew. In Australia, it's True Blue!"

Millencolin's set was unrelenting — fast song after fast song. Unlike other bands, they did not give themselves or the mosh a chance for a breather until after their last song Mr Clean, when they walked off stage before coming back on for their encore with Black Eye, Silent Suicide and No Cigar to name a few.

It may have been a Tuesday night, however, this did not stop the mosh from behaving like it was a Friday/Saturday night. It was the perfect night out, the mosh hard and heavy (not for the faint-hearted) but respectful in the way only a punk mosh can be. There will be many sore heads (and necks today) but it was definitely worth every little bit of pain.