Tonight was going to be one night to remember. Earlier on, there weren’t too many people around as they were clearly here for Regurgitator. The Metro Theatre would later be close to a full house. Those who didn’t arrive early missed out. Local band SEIMS gave a performance as if playing to a sold-out crowd. It was a shame there weren’t more in attendance, but the band didn’t let it affect them. Starting off the set with RCKT, the opening track to their latest CD, their sound a blend of mathcore and progressive rock. Some probably wouldn’t get it, but for some, it’s the best kind of music you could hear. Sometimes, instrumental bands can get a bit boring and leave the punter wanting vocals. This is not the case with SEIMS. With so much going, vocals would ruin the mood. Besides, who needs them when you have the trumpet of Paul Meo in the bands’ cover of Glorybox by Portishead?
Bassist, Simeon Bartholomew asks the audience if they have earplugs due to the volume, but only sarcastically. Even without earplugs, it was hard not to headbang to the taste of unreleased material going by the name of B. Partial hearing loss would be worth it as this four piece Sydney outfit were going to be one hard act to follow. The riffs kept on coming from guitarist Sam Sheumack with a set of dreads that would please The Wailers. Drummer Chris Allison gave the skins a real beating on last track TUN. SEIMS were undoubtedly tight and talented. After SEIMS finished their set I rushed to the merch stand to grab their CD asking a punter to mind my spot like a rottweiler guarding its kibble…
James Neale and his backing band The One True Lovers were that act that had the hard task of following SEIMS. The good thing about Regurgitator is how they always mix up with their supports, likely due to the fact that they blend so many genres into their own music. Tonight, we went from mathcore to indie rock.
Opening up with Darlin’, Neale proved that he was going to win the crowd over with his distinct voice and stellar backing band. The track A Love Affair To Keep You There was reminiscent of UK group The Wombats. What proved to be a crowd favourite was the bands’ cover of Errol by Australian Crawl. Neale would have done James Reyne proud as the crowd sang in unison to the Australian classic. Finishing off the set with In Stranger Times, Neale and his band got the applause they deserved.
I was about to relive the 90’s and constant hours spent watching Recovery on the idiot box. The last time I had seen the band was in 2002 at the Big Day Out, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Quan Yeomans, bassist and vocalist Ben Ely and drummer Peter Kostic. The band’s music has aged fairly well, but they remain juvenile kicking things off with I Sucked A Lot of Cock To Get Where I Am and going out with a fast-paced Everyday Formula.
It was somewhat awkward with the audience singing back to Quan as he spat rhymes and the crowd bounced to Lick My Asshole. It would have been more awkward if a punter had requested to hear that song. No requests were necessary, however, as Regurgitator delivered the goods with hit after hit. The crowd sang along to Black Bugs and an ironic outro to the Gunners, Sweet Child of Mine made for a nice fit. Songs like Polyester Girl went down well with a surreal feel. The hip-hop infused The Drop had the crowd bouncing like mental patients on a trampoline.
Regurgitator – Regurgitator Human Distribution Tour, The Metro Theatre, Sydney, Australia 21.10.2016Modern life made some breathing room for what was to come with the band leaving for a quick wardrobe change. That was only fair since they must have been hot in their jackets. Coming out to a somewhat spaced-out version of Blubber Boy and a new track, they went straight to Track 1 and showed their heavier side. Fat Cop was as catchy as always and sounded even better live, whilst Ben showed his punk influences with next track I Wanna be a Nudist.
It looked like the final song would be the classic Kong Foo Sing, but the ‘Gurge were having that good a time they didn’t want to leave. Ben reminisced the many times the band had played at The Metro and how it still looked the same, pointing out to the bar. Finishing the set with the poppy Song Formerly Known As, again it was like a surreal and blissful time warp.
The crowd had one last bounce reliving their teens for the last time, leaving many with a smile on their face, feeling proud to support Aussie music.
Photography by Kierra Thorn
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