Thursday, 25th February, 2010 – Review by Amy Church

Whether it was the secondhand marijuana smoke filling people’s lungs or the sound of numerous distorted and fuzzy guitars filling their ears, the BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE completely blew punter’s minds last Thursday night. As part of 2010′s promotional tour for the new album, ‘Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?’ the band played their first-ever show in Perth at Capitol. Supported by Melbourne’s THE DEMON PARADE, this was definitely a gig that shouldn’t have been missed!

With a reputation of being wild, unpredictable and even violent onstage, the crowd had no idea what to expect from the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Would the show run smoothly or would notorious front man Anton Newcombe have a temper tantrum and kick someone in the face? That was the question on everyone’s lips as they eagerly awaited the band to ascend the stage.

Yet Brian Jonestown Massacre, or BJM as they are known by their fans, appeared more like a group of well-trained lions than the vicious, drug-addled, rock stars depicted in the 2004 music documentary Dig. In fact, Anton was gentle, shy and even thanked the audience on several occasions. Was the film responsible for introducing the once underground band to the mainstream really just a sequence of rare mishaps taken out of context? Although there was some tension – halfway through the set, guitarist Matt Hollywood stormed off stage, followed by Anton – they were back within minutes, had resolved whatever problems they’d had and were ready to continue rocking hard – but not too hard.

A true BJM fan wouldn’t have left the show disappointed, despite the lack of punch-ups. Musically, the band was outstanding, (even though the leveling wasn’t quite right and Anton’s microphone could’ve been turned up). Eight band members spread out amongst the small stage, Anton hidden on the stage’s far left, his greasy overgrown mop literally covering his face. Percussionist Joel Gion positioned himself centre stage. Poised, pouting and spanking his buttocks with his tambourine, he provided a playful element to the performance while the others concentrated on their playing.

I was particularly impressed with Ricky Rene Maymis’s energetic guitar playing. Having arrived at the venue reasonably early, I was lucky enough to score a spot to the right of the front row, directly underneath where Frankie Teardrop would stand. Having the perfect view of the guitarists crotch, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, however I can’t speak for those who were further back that might have had difficulty seeing the band over the venues ill-placed lighting rigs.

The 21 song set list and included more of the old than new. Older tracks such as ‘When Joker’s Attack‘, ‘Who‘ and ‘Not If You Were the Last Dandy on Earth‘ won the strongest applause from the crowd. The slow and sexy ‘Anenome‘ had the biggest response, featuring a guitar solo from Newcombe. BJM emulated their classic, neo-psychedelic, Stones influenced sound, though a breezy, shoegaze edge definitely shone through.

The encore was long awaited and I did not find it surprising that the audience began chanting “Anton” rather than “BJM” which they later changed to – the guy is certainly a something of an indie music cult figure. I’ll admit I found the encore a disappointing,  being only one song, which I can’t say I recognized. Nonetheless,  I left feeling very satisfied. There’s no doubt that Brian Jonestown Massacre are true indie music icons, and I can easily say this was one of the best shows I’ve seen this year.