After 20 years of trashing stages, both at home and abroad, Brisbane wild boys SixFtHick showed absolutely no signs of slowing down when they took to the stage at The Bearded Lady (15 July).
Fly kicks, bodily fluids and broken glass – SixFtHick have earned a reputation for being one of the most insane acts you will ever see play live. Punters of all ages were tightly packed and gurning for what co-frontman Ben Corbett describes as “amphetamine swamp rock”. Having seen the boys play live before, let me tell you, it’s a hell of a drug.
The sound they have carved out is truly unique. Co-frontmen Ben and Geoff Corbett each bring their own brand of howling, gritty vocals to the five piece. Creating the thick wall of sound behind them is the incredible talented Dan Baebler on guitar, Tony Giacca on bass and Fred Noonan on drums.
Opening the night were Evil and The Jerks. The collaboration is made up of HITS/ Aampirella’s frontman Evil Dick and three-piece outfit The Jerks. The quartet punched out some hard, driving tracks from the Aampirella’s album ‘Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory’ to a hugely appreciative crowd. Evil Dick provided further entertainment with his snide onstage banter and self-appointed solos.
As SixFtHick walked on stage, the crowd began to reach fever pitch. Ben sits down side of stage, seemingly lulling himself into a trance-like state. The boys open with the classic ‘Hot Chicken Hero’ and then all hell breaks loose. Ben and Geoff are up with the speaker boxes front of stage and leaning over the now churning pit. Ben lets off some signature fly kicks then dives into the crowd.
The mayhem continues with the boys belting out a mix of tracks from across their career including ‘Nervous Ticks’, ‘Flight Of The Shitbird’ and ‘Beat Myself'. The second half gets a bit steamy with tracks like ‘White Light, Wet Heat’.
Ben, now well and truly shirtless, writhes and gyrates around on stage. He shakes his sweat off into the crowd, and seductively runs his hands deep into the front of his jeans as the final song reaches its climax.
At the end of their set, the stage is sprayed with broken glass. Damaged lighting dangles precariously from the ceiling. Drummer Fred Noonan has cut his foot on a glass that smashed into his kit earlier.
The band get up and leave the stage while the amped-up crowd chant for an encore. Bassist Tony Giacca playfully pops his head out from backstage before the group re-emerge to an ecstatic crowd and deliver one last growl.
For a band that is lucky to play together every other month, the show was as tight as ever. The five piece instinctively operate onstage as one, great, big, hulking, cane-trash phenomenon. Seriously, if you haven’t seen these guys play live, do yourself a favour, and go check them out already. You’re welcome.
SixFtHick next play The Tote (Melbourne) 9 September.
