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Live Review: Shihad, The Snowdroppers, The Upskirts

11 September 2012 | 3:04 pm | Bradley Armstrong

If you missed out on Shihad in the late-'90s/early-'00s then you must have been living under a rock. The NZ band that could are back launching The Meanest Hits, their new 'best of' collection which covers every aspect of their interesting career and caters for everyone, young and old. 

Kicking off affairs, Sydney four-piece The Upskirts have drawn a reasonable crowd for early in the night, the group seeming to be lost musically in a world of punk and mainstream rock with a pinch of indie, a sound which works but isn't the cup of tea of the older portion of the audience tonight. Still, a solid performance nonetheless. 

Where to begin with The Snowdroppers? Clearly over-rehearsed, the obvious talking point of the show is vocalist Johnny Wishbone who spends most of his time thrusting his (obviously stuffed) crotch or staring at the audience provocatively with a 'I'm a badass' mentality. At first he comes off as a third world version of The Hives' Pelle Almqvist, but as the show goes on it's clear he's simply a bit of a douche, spurting out sexist lyrics such as “Suck on my dick and give my balls a good lickin'” (Drugs And Bad Women) or just coming off as an uneducated bigot with his banter claiming that latest single White Dress is “#1 in Zimbabwe, you know that Congo place” which just makes the whole thing seem impossibly tacky. While the band are technically proficient, it's as about authentic as Coldplay covering Fight For Your Right and no doubt Wishbone doesn't get the 'bitches and sluts' his onstage persona seems to crave.

The fiasco of the odd support bands is quickly blown out of memory as Shihad return to the fray. They do the 'greatest hits' thing in style and open with It, the opening cut from their debut 1990 EP Devolve. The set works chronologically throughout with Derail, Factory and a solo rendition by frontman Jon Toogood of Brightest Star being highlights. The middle part of the set that gets the biggest reaction with My Mind's Sedate sending the crowd into a frenzy. Marking the awkward time that they changed their name to Pacifier, Run also feels somewhat awkward due to a rather lackluster acoustic rendition, but this is soon atoned for with singalongs Comfort Me and Alive. After playing for a solid hour-and-a-half the band come out for an encore of new track Right Outta Nowhere which shows that just because it's greatest hits time doesn't mean it's creatively over for Shihad. 

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The small minority of nauseating performers and punters aside, tonight proves a resounding success on more than a mere nostalgic level for this powerhouse of the NZ rock scene.