Live Review: Gay Paris, City Rose, Slugpunch

It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since Sydney cult heroes Gay Paris first graced (underground) stages with their big riffs and beards, but here we are for another night at the Lansdowne, celebrating a decade full of grooves, beers and intellectually flavoured "Hail Satan!"s. 

Sludgy outfit Slugpunch kicked off the evening with a fuzzy half-hour collection of boppers. Simple, tight and down-to-earth, it was an enjoyable set that rewarded the early birds.

City Rose were up next, adding an avant-garde flavour to the night, with their fusion of harsh noise and hardcore, complete with some tremolo violin screeching over everything. With bars scraped across guitar strings, gurgling vocals and a whole lotta intense pedal work creating a fairly unforgettable soundscape, it was a welcome change from your regular guitar-rock support act.

Taking to the stage with a tray of shots for those who were brave enough to venture near the front early on, Gay Paris burst into their set with enthusiasm and a tightness that suggested they had never really left the live circuit – their last show was in December last year. Accompanied by Jason Leigh of The Stiffys on guitar, the now-quintet ripped jams The Gospel According To Blood & Bone, My First Wife? She Was A Fox Queen! and The Sackcloth Saint Of The Cornfield, with each track earning a rousing reception from the leather jacket-clad throng.

Gay Paris @ Lansdowne Hotel. Photos by Clare Hawley.

Frontman Luke Monks was in fine form throughout the evening, noting the achievements of each band member during their absence from the stage (the announcement that bassist Dean Podmore had achieved "middle-class" status was greeted with respect) and telling stories about the benefits of stan-ing, even as he dished out a near pitch-perfect vocal performance. The band were able to keep the gathering engaged as they executed a well-selected setlist that spanned across their entire discography, the highlight coming with the dark new single Grey Madonna.

Gay Paris' celebration of Ladies And Gentlemen, May We Present To You The Dark Arts was anything but dark, thanks to their youthful energy, an influx of stage invaders, and the band literally kissing the audience. The show concluded on a joyous note. Even if it took another ten years for the band to return to the stage, their fans would remain as faithful as ever.