Live Review: Cloud Nothings, Palms, Bed Wettin' Bad Boys

Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys worked through a solid start, with a shambolic stage presence fitting perfectly with their set-up.

The (in)efficiency of presence meant more time for some great punk-via-the-garage tunes. The driving Have You Ever was a clear standout. Near the end, bassist Joe Sukit dedicated the performance to John Coltrane – and felt the need to qualify its sincerity.

As they’ve done all year, Sydney’s Palms were on-point and broke through with a tight set.

Drummer Tom Wallace turned in a particularly solid performance. Palms’ Al Grigg commented early on the quality of the bands they were playing with, but they brought plenty themselves, with their crisp and fast cuts. Staple, This Last Year, was well received in the back half.

In the end though, it all felt like some Aussie battlers just happy to be there with a peak guitar band. Cloud Nothings took to the stage with little excess and ripped for an hour.

Opening with Stay Useless and then heading into a crushing Psychic Trauma, the band alternated between Attack On Memory tracks and this year’s excellent Here And Nowhere Else.

Much has been made of drummer Jayson Gerycz – and with good reason. Every other rock band is missing out, as were any fans unable to see them play. Chaotic rolls and wild improvisation were something otherworldly, but were made all the more impressive by his ability to stay on the beat. The capacity to combine these heavy freak-outs with killer tunes underneath feels increasingly unique to this band.

Gerycz and frontman Dylan Baldi flailed, while perennially underrated member TJ Duke held down the bottom end. His toiling was especially noticeable in Pattern Walks – working frantically for the whole song – and in closer, Wasted Days, where the band extended into a churning, cresting volcano of harshness and discordant sentiment. It was absurdly brilliant, and scary to think that there were great songs they still could’ve played.