Millencolin & The Vandals @ The Hi-Fi Brisbane Review

With Soundwave touring the country, many capital cities are going to play host to some of the loudest, heaviest, bone-shaking music in the world.

With a hot line-up of acts including Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and Judas Priest performing, most punters would suspect that Soundwave is purely dedicated to heavy metal, and forget that there is a wide array of other genres.

Friday night (27 February), The Hi-Fi in West End had representatives from the punk contingent perform, featuring The Interrupters, The Vandals and Millencolin. While these groups didn’t have the pyrotechnics of the Soundwave headliners, the amount of energy they put into their respective sets showed they didn’t need fancy tricks. Just real-punk energy.

The first act to kick things off was The Interrupters. Hailing from Long Beach in Los Angeles, California, The Interrupters’ music was in a ska vein, much like fellow Californians Rancid. Made up of singer Aimee Allen (whose voice reminded me a lot of a gender-swap Tim Armstrong) and backed on guitars, bass, and drums by a trio of musicians (the Bivona brothers) all wearing a uniform of skinny ties, white shirts, black trousers, and suspenders, these guys were real deal about ska.

Image © Stephen Sloggett

The Interrupters began their set not by easing the audience into the show with a slowish song, but by going full throttle from the get-go and not stepping away from the formula of short-fast-loud.



Click here for more photos from the show.

Not only did they get the audience moshing with their upbeat rock, but The Interrupters even managed to show them how it’s done by running across the stage and jumping off equipment – I don’t think I saw their feet touch the ground for the majority of their set. Furthermore, showing they still had energy to burn, The Interrupters even debuted a song that was so new it was only written backstage before the show. The Interrupters are definitely a band that refuse to stop.

The Vandals - Image © Stephen Sloggett

Following on from The Interrupters were fellow Californians The Vandals. Veterans of the Californian punk scene, The Vandals formed in the '80s and played with fellow legends Black Flag and The Descendants.

The Vandals - Image © Stephen Sloggett

Before tonight I had never heard of them, and I am ashamed to admit that. The Vandals played a style of punk that was fast, very loose, and fun as hell. Never taking themselves seriously, The Vandals were constantly sarcastic and funny throughout their set, with banter filled with ‘Dinky-di’ puns and a song that managed to get a great chant along called ‘Reverse Diarrhoea.’

The Vandals - Image © Stephen Sloggett

But, the band wasn’t just about honing their comedy chops; The Vandals played some of the catchiest pop-punk I’ve ever heard. I’ve still got closing song ‘My Girlfriend’s Dead’ playing in my head long after the show. The band’s melodies and humour are so infectious, it’s easy to see why Blink-182 and Green Day stole The Vandals shtick.

The Vandals - Image © Stephen Sloggett

After having a banner with their name emblazoned on it hanging behind the first two acts, nobody forgot that Millencolin were the final band of the night. The anticipation was so high that while the curtains were down for a quick soundcheck before the show, the flubbed notes and “1-2-1-2s” were getting an applause. The crowd were still not ready for when the Swedes emerged; going completely mental like Orson Welles had announced another alien invasion.

Image © Stephen Sloggett

The moshing going on in front of the stage could barely contain the crowd, with many members being squeezed from their places to end up on top of the crowd and surfing across it. Millencolin’s music showed how much punk has evolved since its beginnings, replacing the three-chords with meaty riffs while retaining the ear for melody of their punk forefathers.

Millencolin - Image © Stephen Sloggett

Along with flexing their huge back catalogue of hits such as ‘Ray' and 'No Cigar', the boys even managed to treat the crowd to some new songs from their forthcoming album; songs which manage to retain the energy, speed, and melody of their classics.

Millencolin - Image © Stephen Sloggett

Towards the end of the show, a nice interruption came from The Interrupters, who joined Millencolin on stage to sing a tune. It was great to see some of the fun the punters at Soundwave were being treated to.

Millencolin - Image © Stephen Sloggett

The bands never treated the show like a rehearsal for a big event, but as another playground for them to have fun. Not only did the bands show that punk was far from dead, but it also showed how it has evolved from its heyday to now.

Millencolin - Image © Stephen Sloggett

Click here for more photos from the show.