Live Review: The Fauves, Doctor's Orders

Comprising half of Dancing Heals (who warmed this same stage in support of Ash, recently), Doctor's Orders play tracks written by The Fauves' own Phil 'Doctor' Leonard. Treading a fine line between humour and in-joking, the four lads exit the stage having played a loose set, whetting the appetites of those present, hungry to witness Andrew Cox (Coxy) and friends in all their dry-witted glory.

The Fauves take to the stage with minimal fanfare, curtains revealing a white-suited, red-tied Coxy, standing out like dog's balls among his more casually garbed, long-time bandmates. Having promised to revisit their extensive back catalogue, the boys launch into Skateboard World Record from their successful Future Spa LP. Keen to please fans by playing “at least one thing off all of our 11 albums”, Coxy laments that their first album is “largely unlistenable and largely unplayable”. “So apologies for this next one, it's not a great song, frankly,” he adds. The Fauves then crank out the first single they released on a major label, Thin Body Thin Body.

It's worth the price of admission alone to watch the laidback chemistry and gold-littered banter between Fauves members, and after the first part of the show finishes, the band gets the opportunity to satisfy their comedic yearnings with a PowerPoint presentation charting the band's history. Describing their humble beginnings as a young Melbourne band full of beans who started out under the moniker Coxy's Band (much to the chagrin of the other band members), The Fauves' passion for piss-taking is in full effect now, with no one safe from their acerbic sledging (especially themselves). A multitude of embarrassing promotional photos fly by in quick succession, including a high-waisted, middle-of-the road photo from the '90s that Coxy describes as having been taken during their “Rivers years”. Self-deprecatory news clippings and rejection letters from EMI follow, as does a lengthy list of backstage rider requirements the band thought they would try to push their luck with, only to have it returned in one instance with all requests denied (barring flat mineral water).

This second act of the night done and dusted, the music returns with Give Up Your Day Job. A top ten of fan-voted hits follows, counting down from Understanding Kyuss at number ten. The list is almost solely comprises material from fan-favourite '90s LPs Future Spa (five tracks) and follow-up Lazy Highways (four). The top three songs are The Charles Atlas Way, Dogs Are The Best People and, not surprisingly, Self Abuser. It's great to hear these tracks in the live arena played by this shameless bunch of Aussie larrikins.