It's a Friday night (20 May) and it's time to shake the booty and head out on the town.
Where too? The majestic Princess Theatre (in Brisbane) where Regurgitator are set to play their second helping of their seminal album 'Tu-Plang' to fans.Support acts The Stress Of Leisure (TSOL) and renowned Aussie rockers Screamfeeder, who were smashing out live gigs on many a stage when 'Tu-Plang' was born, both bring the nostalgia feels to prime us ahead of the beloved headliners.
Kicking off the night are TSOL – Ian Powne (guitar, lead vocals), Pascalle Burton (keys/ synth, backup vocals), Jane Elliott (bass) and Phil Usher (drums).
TSOL - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Powne spawned TSOL in the early naughties music scene, but this band could easily have been birthed in the '80s or '90s – and accepted.
TSOL never fail to lift the spirits with catchy choruses backed up by immense guitar from Powne and a steady pulsing rhythm section laced with poppy synth and keys by Burton in her immaculate vintage outfit.
The often brilliant lyrics of TSOL could be contemporary poetry in their own right without music (I prefer them with music). There are punters eagerly discovering the wonder of TSOL as they play their set.
TSOL - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The crowd gives the most feedback at the end of favourites such as 'Banker On TV' and 'Pulled Pork', and loud appreciation through cheers at the end of their set.
Screamfeeder – featuring Tim Steward (guitar, vocals), Kellie Lloyd (bass, vocals), Darek Mudge (guitar), and Phil Usher (drums) – are long-serving indie rockers and clearly came along with fans in tow. I saw them smashing Steward at the merch stand earlier.
Now as they're taking the stage Screamfeeder are set to give us songs off their 1996 album 'Kitten Licks', an exceptional album and a fundamental addition to many a house party or pre-gig warm up at my place. It was one album that got replaced a few times due to being mistreated by party animals!
For those who were teens or in our early 20s, this album was a crucial part of our late '90s life track. This album is definitely one that transports you to another place and time where the songs are bonded to memories.
Screamfeeder - image © Clea-marie Thorne
We are being fed 'Static' as the delicious Screamfeeder entrée. The energy kicks up a notch and like true rock & roll rebels the fuzz pop-indie rockers rebel against the order of the album track list for everything except this – the first and last songs.
Punters are being taken on trip to when grunge, fuzz and distortion meets with shifting melodic vocals on live music stages where it seemed that Screamfeeder was playing for what seemed to be every other weekend. We are nodding heads, and swaying to their grooves.
Well-known and loved track 'Bruises' with its punk vibes got played early in the set list before the more shoegaze sounds of 'Explode Your Friends' ebbed out to us. Our energy is kept raised and we are fully engaged throughout the set.
The many times I've seen these Brissie legends, they consistently excite my live music taste buds. Taking nothing away from that last statement, I am feeling a spice to their usual fuzz-rock energy, which is vibing at a frequency that I haven't felt since seeing them live in the '90s and '00s – I am going to say, tonight they are lit!
Screamfeeder - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Perhaps their new release has blossomed a new level of energy within the band. Whatever it is keep it coming!
It's great to see Kellie and Tim really get their cool, heavy indie-rocker stage moves happening as it encourages me to bust out some on-the-spot moves of my own.
Nearing the end of the set Steward asks us to "please can you do me a huge personal favour and say a big thank you to Phil on the drums. . . don't make him beg for it" – the crowd cheer and Usher starts us off with the rest of the band joining in to smash out the highly socialised 'Dart' (everyone's favourite, right?).
'Dart', 'Bridge Over Nothing' (a favourite of mine) and 'Gravity' have been held back for dessert and these three bangers are receiving the loudest sing-alongs from the crowd.
We embrace what we know as the close-out songs as Kellie starts to sing us 'Pigtails On A Rock' and the band are joined onstage by saxophonist, introduced as Sally to kick out the epic outro of the song.
Screamfeeder - image © Clea-marie Thorne
But wait. What? There's more? Yasss! We are told they'll be back at the Princess on the Brisbane leg of their tour for the release of their new but re-energised old-school feels album 'Five Rooms' and Ben Ely just may just make a guest bass appearance.
As they close out their set with 'Triple Hook', a melodic pop-rock crowd pleaser from their 1998 album 'Rocks On The Soul' we rock out big time and are left buzzing as they exit the stage.
I thought the house was packed already, but it had swelled even more as punters filled the upstairs seats and crammed into the lower level of the venue as we awaited the beloved headliners.
Regurgitator - image © Clea-marie Thorne
We are not kept waiting long as Regurgitator – Quan Yeomans (guitarist, vocals) and Ben Ely (bass, vocals) grabbed their tools while Peter Kostic (drums) takes a seat behind his tubs and cymbals – as they ready themselves to blast out of our skins and have a rocking fun time on stage.
And we are off on the 'Tu-Plang' joyride with 'I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am'. Are you old enough to remember the contrasting guffaw and gasp this song got when it was released? Ha!
'Kong Foo Sing' was up next and of course there are fortune cookies on the digital screen (for those of you who know the story) and we are dancing up a storm as Yeomans and Ely are rockin' guitars high, jumping on stage and walking out on speakers to get closer to the fans.
Regurgitator - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'G7 Dick Electro Boogie' and 'Couldn't Do It' are played next and unlike Screamfeeder who mixed up the track list, the Gurge kept to the order of things making their way through 'Miffy's Simplicity', 'Social Disaster', 'Music Is Sport', '348 Hz', 'Mañana' and as 'F.S.O.', which is as hectic as a riding in a Tuk-Tuk through Bangkok.
We are thrashing in our places before we change tempo and sway our hips to the slow and sleazy groove of 'Pop Porn' while Quan is rapping.
Quan stops to interject some dialogue about the aging body and needing to do yoga poses ending in a lot of laughs from those of us around the same age – this of course leads them and us into 'Young Bodies Heal Quickly'.
Regurgitator - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Their big banger that has had a multitude of mixes including on 'Tu-Plang', 'Blubber Boy' now has us bouncing up and down and bopping along and singing along. Oh my, the feeling in this, to quote Ely "Batman vibing building is literally lifting its roof".
We do not stop dancing to the bunch of bonus fan favourites now coming at us including 'Blood And Spunk', 'Polyester Girl', 'Track 1' and 'Bongzilla'.
Ely thanks his Manager for the booking, the sound guy and venue then asks us playfully: "Do you guys want to lick somebody's asshole right now?", and of course we know what is next on offer ahead of 'Bong in My Eye' that pumps out its thick and contagious simplistic riff, rhythm and rhyme which is then followed on by 'I Wanna Be A Nudist'.
Ben warns us we are about to be played the second last song and we squeal as the beats and melody of the penultimate song 'Black Bugs' is unleashed. This one almost always moves me to a happy place despite the lyrics and we punters are chiming in to sing the verse and chorus as loud as possible.
Regurgitator - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Yeoman brings in the intro to the last song with the oh-so familiar funky guitar riff while Ely is clapping his hands above his head only stopping for a moment to throw his toy monkey that had been adorning his mic stand, to a lucky punter in the crowd.
Then in good time, Ely and Kostic bring the pulsating rhythms to take tonight's party people out with, you guessed it '! (The Song Formerly Known As)' (tongue in cheek – I know right!).
The magic that has been created from this set gives an all-time high vibe for the night as we sing "ooh, ooh, well, things don't get no better. . .". I am thinking, no they do not!
Even so, not wanting the show to ever end, we greedy punters are calling for an encore – selfishly having been transported to another time and place, we are oblivious to the current time, venue operating constraints and the fact the album is complete with the bonus extras.
All in all we got more than what we came for and we rode out of the venue on a wave of elation, with hoarse voices and bodies a little sweaty from dancing and grooving.
The sparkle in our eyes and grins we have spanning from ear to ear betray our total satisfaction of the night – no words needed.
A majestic venue packed with punters frothing for the live experience of 'Tu-Plang' – was there ever a doubt that it would be anything other than another exceptional Gurge show?
This celebration of their debut album gifted to us via a live show radiating their infectious energy and lifting the dopamine levels of everyone in the room, scores them 9.5 out of 10 unicorns.
If you are wondering why I didn't give a full 10. . . If you are too young to have already figured out that Gurge performances just get better and better – and with decades of shows yet to give – their best show ever may still be one they are yet to play! I'll keep my half unicorn for that show.
More photos from the show.
