Review by DAVID SAYERS

It was a curious night as fans trickled into the Capitol last Saturday (10^th September) to witness THE VINES – one of Australia’s most infamous rock bands – perform in support of their most recent album, ‘Future Primitive’. The question on everybody’s lips.. would vocalist/guitarist Craig Nicholls perform one of his iconic meltdowns?

BLEEDING KNEES CLUB kicked things off early by playing a few three-chord tracks to a handful of attendees who were either slinking towards the back of the room or sitting on the floor by the bar. The duo’s garage-rock influenced tunes were catchy, sloppy and fun, with set highlight ‘Have Fun’ managing to coerce a few slouches to bop their heads in agreement before the band retired from the dense fog of apathy.

By the time PAPA VS PRETTY had set up, the crowd had swelled to a nearly packed house, with countless fans cheering on as the alternative-rockin’ three piece took to the stage under dimmed lights and a wall of howling guitar feedback. Singer/guitarist Thomas Rawle hypnotized all with a broad vocal range and detailed guitar playing, while bassist Gus Gardiner and drummer Tom Myers played their hearts out and provided some solid harmonies. The songwriting was entertaining and engaging with a welcome variation of styles throughout. Latest single ‘Honey’ was played brilliantly and received a massive response from the crowd, while the folk inspired ‘Heavy Harm’ provided a calm interlude between the waves of synthesized fuzz.

The Vines arrived after a lengthy interlude, with Nicholls swaggering to the mic and coherently greeting the screaming crowd before strumming out the first chords of the band’s latest single ‘Gimme Love’. Nicholls was in impeccable form as he dominated the stage with punk rock flair, half crazed shrieks and slick musicianship. The demure duo of guitarist Ryan Griffiths and bassist Brad Heald provided some steady rhythm and a pinch of sanity, plodding grooving through the night whilst dodging their spasming madmen of a singer, while the curiously under-dressed drummer Hamish Rosser pounded simple rock beats from the back. ‘Outtathaway’ thundered through the speakers as Nicholls ninja-kicked Heald in the bass and lit up a hand rolled cigarette. There wasn’t a single member of the crowd who didn’t start pogo jumping to ‘Get Free’ and a crowd surfer would have face planted at the front of stage, had it not been for Nicholls dropping everything to grab him by the ankles and keep him afloat.

The encore featured Nicholls playing a solo, acoustic version of ‘Leave Me In The Dark’  amongst a sea of swaying lighters, before the band returned to bust out ‘He’s A Rocker’ and ‘Fuck The World’. Crowd members then rushed the stage while Nicholls happily smashed his guitar against the drum kit and security did their best to avoid a riot.