Live Review: Spiderbait, Apes

It seemed as though for one night only The Gov had returned to the days of pub rock in all its un-glamorous, un-pretentious glory. Attendees weren’t here to see a gig, they were rolling in thick and fast to see a rock and roll show, which is exactly what was delivered.

Some of the youngest faces in the crowd for the night belong to opening band APES. While most recent single Pull The Trigger was quite a bright and catchy indie-pop sound, it was surrounded in a set of hard-rock. Seven flexed the rough, gritty rock muscles the boys were really made of and had the crowd starting to ramp up.

With just the single support act for the night, Spiderbait were next to take to the stage. A long wait for many to catch them live after almost a decade since their previous record, but the trio still performed with all guns blazing. Kram’s heavy kick drum, up-tempo style was the lifeblood of the band and rolled through the venue like thunder.

A couple of special mentions went out from the band during the show. First was a memorial to Jason Curley from Tumbleweed, taking a moment to honour this show and the entire tour to him. Second was to sound technician Paul Martin, who humbly waved from behind the sound desk in the back corner of the room. Not only as thanks for being a wizard on the controls, but because he was former owner of one of Spiderbait’s very first rehearsal spaces in Melbourne all those many moons ago.

Of course including new material into the mix, Spiderbait were sure to salute the long-time fans with debut singles and LP tracks including Circle K, Footy and Buy Me A Pony. There were some additional keys and drum pads that made an appearance for only a couple of tracks which were spaced over the whopping two hour set. Overall a great collection of material was performed spanning their vast repertoire which allowed all groups of the crowd to appreciate the show.

“More than any other show I feel like I have travelled in time tonight”. We may have succumbed to watching a pop star receive Best Rock Video in the last week, but not all hope is lost. Rock and roll isn’t dead just yet.