Eyes darted around inside Brisbane’s The Triffid (13 June).
Warping, brightly coloured globs were projected onto the screen. Meanwhile, on the stage below were Perth’s Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, their headbanging turning them into hairy blurs. The hyperactive visuals were perfectly matched by their manic riffing, like on their new album ‘And Now For The Whatchamacallit’, the combination sending fans into a frenzy.
Local openers Future Haunts swaggered on stage, and with tunes to match. Powerhouse drums and thick bass laid strong grooves for the crowd before them, while the guitarists filled the songs with spiky licks and psychedelic whirrs.
Future Haunts - image © Kalem Horn
Punters entering the venue were immediately drawn to the rich sound, which also caught the attention of those at the bar in the middle of their orders to hear them.
It was easy to mistake the noises from Newcastle’s RAAVE TAPES for synthesisers. But every whine, zap, and bleep was the result of Joab Eastley’s heavily processed guitar.
Lindsay O’Connell’s dirty bass and Lewis Horne’s pulsing beats kept the energy high from the beginning, and Joab and Lindsay yelped socially-conscious lyrics over their dancefloor bangers.
RAAVE TAPES - image © Kalem Horn
Fingers sprinted across guitar fretboards throughout Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ headlining set.
Click here for more photos from the show.
Guitarists Luke Parish and Jack McEwan were joined by touring guitarist Chris Young, and the triple-guitar attack made the monster riffs thicker on ‘Ergophobia’.
The trio layered their guitar noises, giving fuel to the face-melting licks of ‘Social Candy’. The chorus exploded and the fans, along with Luke, Jack, and bassist Luke Reynolds lost control of their bodies and thrashed. Jack lunged forward towards his mic, sending his long hair over his face and making him resemble a furry beast swallowing a microphone.
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - image © Kalem Horn
Impressive hallucinogenic visuals were projected on the screen behind the band. Ink blots morphed into unfamiliar shapes; a man rides a serpent, weaving through skeletons; and a knight fights a giant spider. Drummer Danny Caddy’s face was in the projector’s firing-line, but blinding lights didn’t throw him from pummelling his kit.
Focus changed from watching the projections to the spectacle of the mosh pit. Fans shoved into each other, while some climbed above others and were carried across the raging below. Each song had at least one fan climbing onto the stage and launching themselves into the crowd, their legs and arms splayed out as they surfed across other fans – coincidentally, to the tune of new track ‘Surf’s Up’.
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - image © Kalem Horn
“I can’t see anything,” exclaimed Jack, explaining that the energy in the room made his glasses fog up. Two topless fans staggered out of the mosh to catch their breath. They mopped their sweat with the shirts in their hands, but were drawn back by the growling bass of ‘Cornflake’.
Another fan appeared onstage, staring dumbfounded at the crowd. Jack stepped away from the mic to shred and the fan began to shout the song’s lyrics into the mic. Jack returned, put an arm around the fan and shouted with him.
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - image © Kalem Horn
The riff grew before, finally, the fan jumped back into the crowd, becoming part of the hysteria caused by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.
