Live Review: The Living End, Dave Larkin Band

Support act Dave Larkin Band suit the theme of tonight: 2006. Featuring former Dallas Crane singer-guitarist Dave Larkin, with Tommy Boyce from The Casanovas on lead guitar, they acknowledge Larkin's much-loved former band by playing Ladybird and Dirty Hearts. They have plenty of hits of their own as well, but a 45-minute set of 12 songs, when the headliner plays 14, is a little too much.

A temporary redemption after Modern ARTillery, State Of Emergency, released in 2006, is the fourth album from The Living End and the third they perform in a run of dates at the Corner Hotel. According to the video that plays before they walk on stage, it's the record that won back wavering fans and earned them a legion of new ones. Regardless, like most shows on the tour, attendance is at capacity. Rarely deviating from their trademark sound, only adjusting intensity, State Of Emergency is a superbly produced record, but in a live context, that counts for nothing. The band are in the unusual predicament of not needing to win over fans or push a new record. In fact, most in attendance have the exclusive “red ticket” granting them entry to six consecutive shows. They are guaranteed a full house every night and, so it would seem, they just have to roll out the hits. What separates tonight from normal shows however, is the fact that they perform a full album from start to finish for the first and only time. It's the sense of witnessing something rare that validates the concept. State Of Emergency is vintage The Living End, full of punk-inspired rock'n'roll and Chris Cheney's distinguishable lyrics. Wake Up is a contemporary take on Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall, as Cheney sings, “Wake up to the situation/Suicidal education.” It's full of gloom and cynicism, until a stirring chorus kicks in; tonight the role of youth choir is played by the front five rows of the audience.

The record's first single What's On Your Radio? is surely tongue in cheek. Coming in at under three minutes, it seems written for the airways with its repetitious verse/chorus structure that sees Cheney drop the word “radio” 27 times. Like so many of the band's songs, it was warmly embraced by national radio, making Cheney's line “Do you trust what's on your radio?” seem daft. Green Day's frontman Billy Joe Armstrong released this album in the US via his label Adeline Records and it's not hard to see why. Pop-punk tracks such as Nothing Lasts Forever, Long Live The Weekend and Nowhere Town share the Californian band's zeal for simple but effective melodies.

At 51:45 it's their longest album and, to accommodate, the banter is kept to a minimum tonight. Although this means proceedings are wrapped up by 11pm, you lose the connection to the band and, to the detriment of the concept, feel like you're just listening to the record from start to finish. “Playing a record eliminates the surprise option,” smirks Cheney, as a fan shouts out a request, offering a rare insight into his personality, but also highlighting why such shows are hit and miss.