Live Review: Violent Soho, DZ Deathrays, Dune Rats, The Gooch Palms

Gorgeous Brisbane venue The Tivoli was only recently saved from being knocked down to make way for urban development, but as the waves of ravenous rock fans descend on the stately building tonight for the first of three sold out hometown concerts by Violent Soho — and the first show of the national tour celebrating their triumphant #1 album WACO — it seems that celebrations of its saving were premature because its foundations are surely about to be shaken to their very core.

Sole interstate interlopers on tonight's bill The Gooch Palms open proceedings to a sizeable early crowd, and the Newcastle-via-LA duo's two-person party goes down a treat from the get-go. Guitarist Leroy Macqueen and stand-up drummer Kat Friend are clad in their matching trackie tops and pump out a solid stream of bratty bubblegum garage nuggets, daggy and angular new track Ask Me Why sitting comfortably alongside old faves like Hunter Street Mall, and they get the night's first little mosh going when they finish with stomping good-time anthem We Get By.

For a bunch of bands who pride themselves on not giving a rats these mobs sure have some efficient help behind the scenes, because the night proceeds logistically like clockwork. The changeovers are well-drilled and efficient, and soon local stoner garage trio Dune Rats appear to a heroes' reception, breaking straight into Dalai Lama, Big Banana, Marijuana (as is their wont), which proves as perfectly stupid and catchy as ever. They move onto old staple Fuck It, frontman Danny Beusa particularly manic as he darts around the stage riling up the well-lubricated crowd (like they need it), before Superman ushers in the first crowd surfers seen at The Tivoli in some while. As Beusa yells, "It's great to be back in Brisbane!" someone from the mosh throws him a goon bag in perfect synchronicity, which he catches, skulls and passes around his band, before a cool sounding new song (described by the band as "shithouse") segues into a ramshackle cover of Violent Femmes' Blister In The Sun. The crowd goes apeshit for Red Light Green Light, another new one flies by, Funny Guy ramps it up a notch and they end a lightning but hit-laden set with cracking new single Bullshit, which seems to have made an near-instant impression already judging by the sea of pumping fists and masses of faces singing along in unison before them.

Another quick changeover and another bunch of Brisbane luminaries receive a huge response as they take their respective places, DZ Deathrays' huge black skull banner bringing the first hint of menace to proceedings. The traditional pairing of Shane Parsons (guitar/vocals) and Simon Ridley (drums) is these days fleshed out by a second guitarist and as they open with Less Out Of Sync and No Sleep their sound seems thicker and more sinuous, underpinned by Ridley's potent mix of precision and power behind the kit. The floor before them is by now jam-packed and writhing, and songs like Dollar Chills and the driving Cops Capacity bring the place close to meltdown — if you were teleported in here without knowledge of the situation you'd swear this was the band everyone had come to see tonight. Recent single Blood On My Leather sounds massive in the live realm, things reaching a crescendo during Gina Works At Hearts before they rein things in a tad to conclude with the relatively sedate Ocean Exploder.

Immediately the crew onstage ramp up their own intensity, installing a massive white drop cloth that conceals the whole stage bar three lone microphones at the front. Eventually a massive red version of Violent Soho's stoner skull logo appears staring down upon the unruly crowd, anticipatory fever building towards breaking point before the whole thing drops in a massive reveal to expose the four members of the band already at their respective stations, and as they burst straight into WACO's opening track How To Taste it's like a frenzy of delight transforms the crowd into a pulsating single entity. Up front hair is flailing and drinks flying everywhere, absolute joy and adulation etched into the crevice of every sweaty grimace. The band take it all in with their usual no-fuss demeanour, and it's clear that the songs from WACO have been devoured and taken to heart given the reception afforded new single Evergreen, the album's cover now presented brightly behind them on a huge banner as they throw in older stand-alone singles Neighbour Neighbour and In The Aisle.

Guitarist James Tidswell sounds enormous through his huge triple Marshall stack as frontman Luke Boerdom wrestles with his vocals, wringing every nuance of emotion and intensity from each syllable as he pours himself into his art. Behind them drummer Michael Richards has taken his own craft to a whole new level — the intricacy of his fills abetting his trademark rumbling perfectly — and he locks in tight with ever-reliable bassist Luke Henery to provide the rock solid foundation for a slew of WACO tunes in So Sentimental, Slow Wave, Blanket and recent single Viceroy which ushers in a whole new level of mayhem.

These new songs sound massive onstage, even though some are being played in anger for the first time and don't yet fit the band like old jeans as their prior tunes seem to do, but the crowd doesn't care one iota — indeed the paucity of punters at the bar may tell the tale of a Tuesday night rock show, but in the heaving crowd up front it could be everyone's birthday at once given the mass excitement and sheer adoration pulsating from every body. They slow things down with a couple of the cruisier numbers from 2013's breakthrough album Hungry Ghost in the form of Saramona Said and Fur Eyes, and after a killer version of OK Cathedral the earlier reveal is shown to be a cunning ruse as the WACO banner drops to reveal old stoner skull again leering down from behind, the room taking the already ludicrously high energy levels through the roof as the familiar notes of Dope Calypso ring out.

Soho throw in one solitary morsel from their earlier days with a propulsive take on Son Of Sam, somehow seeming immediately relaxed back in more familiar territory, before dedicating the killer Like Soda to Brisbane and tearing through it like their lives depend on it, clearly leaving nothing in the tank as they feed off the voracious crowd giving it their all before them. They humbly thank their hometown for the love and finish with their piece de resistance Covered In Chrome — the "Hell fuck yeah!" refrain yelled out with cult-like venom by all and sundry. Then as suddenly as that it's all over — the lights coming on and The Smith Street Band's Young Drunk emitting through the venue's speakers giving immediate indication that there will be no encore. It's only some eight years now since Violent Soho self-released their debut album, in part because of perceived apathy from the industry. So it's been a staggering journey for them to reach the pinnacle that they have through sheer talent, hard work, dedication and self-belief in their own rock credentials. It's been a riveting story so far, and judging by tonight's performance it's one with a lot of chapters still waiting to be written.