Words / Photos – @benshootspeople
We’re two days out of summer, and we’re not ready to say goodbye just yet, so a few thousand of us head out on a Sunday evening over to PICA, tucked away in the middle of industrial Port Melbourne, to catch Pennywise and Millencolin on the Melbourne leg of their co-headline Australian tour. Seeing two of punk rock’s greats play together is an easy sell, and I’m impressed by my first sight of the venue upon arrival, with the very sizeable courtyard sporting a merch section, a handful of food trucks and, of course, a bar. I’ve barely made it halfway across the courtyard, and I already bump into a handful of friendly familiar faces from back in the day (most likely last seen at a punk rock show). Always a bonus from coming out to these gigs.
I make it inside just in time for the first band to take the stage to an already half-full shed and enthusiastically declare, “We’re Fake News from Queensland, and we’re having a good time.”
What ensues is just under 30 minutes of solid punk rock channelling the sunny beaches of Southern California, making me wish they had one of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games set up on a giant screen for us to play. I hear there’s a new game on the horizon, someone should give these guys a call.
Singer Tim proudly declares that they’re pitting each city against each other, with the crowd easily taking the bait when asked what we think of Sydney. The crowd participation continues, as we’re all prompted to yell out “pour me a beer!” to lead into the very aptly titled Beer. Many of those amongst us signify their familiarity with the band by yelling it out again to close out the song. I’m admittedly out of touch with the local scenes these days, but it’s always heartwarming to see Australian support bands get the love from their dedicated fans and newcomers alike. A tight set full of fun vibes, cheeky banter, woah-ohs galore, and tight musicianship all round, Fake News knocks it out of the park at every turn. A great choice to warm us all up for things to come.
The Flip of the coin has Millencolin taking the stage next, led in by quite a foreboding and suspenseful intro of brooding chords. Drummer Fredrik follows on from this with some sporadic hits on his toms to bring us to the edge of our seats, and when the opening lick to Penquins & Polarbears kicks in, all bets are off. A sight for sore eyes and ears, they’ve got us in the palms of their hands from the get-go.
Across the next hour, we’re treated to a great spread of tunes from throughout their career, seamlessly mixing all their different styles together and never losing energy. From the ska stylings of Da Strike and Story Of My Life, to catchy rock ala Fox and Man Or Mouse, to the faster-paced Bullion and Mr Clean, we’re reminded of why we love them so much. A select few of their more recent offerings, including True Brew and SOS, also make it into the set and fit in amongst the old classics with ease.
The theme of today is definitely ‘fun,’ and very few bands encompass this more than Millencolin. It’s really the only way to describe their performance and them in general. No matter what they’re singing about, be it elitism, racism, or the love of a scooter and its rider, they just make everything fun. Even the sombre The Ballad gets everyone singing so loudly that singer Nikola doesn’t even need to sing the chorus; he just basks in it, and why wouldn’t you? It’s spine-tingling stuff.
Millencolin’s tight musicianship is impressive on its own, but we really get to see them shine in a live setting. Oohs and aahs come at us from all angles, along with some jump kicks, and it’s just so great to see the members interact and vibe with each other along the way. Watching their pure joy is wholesome and makes our experience being there with them that much more special.
By the time No Cigar closes out the set, our hearts are full and our lungs are empty from all the sing-alongs and cheering. The mutual love in the room between band and crowd is palpable, and it’s hard to be mad that the Millencolin chapter is now over. Time to catch our breaths, ‘cos there’s more work to be done.
Pennywise are the boss. There, I said it. But even so, they know they’ve got big shoes to fill after the previous set from their Millen-mates. Wasting no time, bassist Randy and drummer Byron kick into the iconic My Own Country and the crowd lets them know that we still have a buttload of energy left for them. Punk rock shows always put the security teams through their paces and tonight’s crowd is no exception, with the crowd surfers coming over the edge like clockwork.
The set continues with an unexpected favourite of mine in It’s What You Do With It, along with a few other less expected numbers in Who’s To Blame and Just For You. While the big classics, such as Same Old Story and Society, are pretty much a given in any Pennywise set (tonight’s included), and for good reason, it always excites me even more to see what they’re going to dig out of their massive vault, and they never fail to surprise me every time.
Another given at an Australian Pennywise show is that we’ll be treated to their rendition of Men At Work’s classic hit Down Under, with singer Jim affirming the band’s love of coming down to our shores. At one point, he even jokes that they’re just not going to leave and asks if anyone has a shed they could stay in. I don’t imagine they’d be short of accommodation offers from the boisterous crowd. It’s songs like Down Under and Perfect People where we get to see the lighter side of Jim, showing off a flexed bicep during the former and pulling faces during the latter. Even the voices of rebellion need some silliness in their lives, and we’re all here for it.
Pennywise always manage to show off their different sides, musically, as well, with the more rocky My God, Fuck Authority and Badge Of Pride having us bopping, while It’s Up To Me, Homesick and Living For Today go full steam ahead and whip everyone into a frenzy. And then there’s a song like American Dream, which has a bit of everything, is another unexpected surprise, and it goes down a bloody treat.
At the risk of blowing more smoke up their collective bums, Pennywise are just damn good at what they do. To borrow a phrase from Duke Nukem, they’re here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and it appears that they’re all outta gum. Guitarist Fletcher is an absolute riff machine, drummer Byron pounds those skins like there’s no tomorrow, and bassist Randy’s double whammy of slick bass playing and booming backup vocals are always a wonder to behold. Jim belts out his mile-a-minute snappy vocals with ease, along with his trademark head bobbing, while gesturing out to the crowd and commanding them throughout the set’s entirety.
A Pennywise show is always full of laughs, shit-talking, crowd surfing, punk rock pep talks and sing-alongs, and this one ticked all the boxes. As the end draws near, we’re treated to some guest vocals on Stand By Me by Millencolin’s Nikola, sharing some wonderful camaraderie with each of the band members. When the unmistakable bassline of Bro Hymn kicks in, we know it’s our last time to let loose, and my gosh, does the crowd do just that. Crowd surfing turned up to 11, fans rushing the stage, and the security undoubtedly lamenting not getting paid enough for how much extra work they now have to do. All in a day’s work, hey?
I’m tired. I’m so, so tired. But my heart is full, and you bet your sweet bippy I’ll be back again next time.
A massive thanks goes to the PICA crew for having us, and a special thanks to Dallas Does PR.
EVERYDAY METAL – SUPPORT LOCAL HEAVY METAL
