FRENZAL RHOMB

When I say The Gov was full of Frenzal Fans, it couldn’t get any fuller (we’re gonna pretend that’s a word coz my heads a bit sore at the moment). The guys played the final show of their Hi-Vis High Tea tour to a sold-out crowd and reminded the punters why they are one of our favourite punk bands.

Before Frenzal Rhomb hit the stage, I was lucky enough to catch up with Lindsay and hang out with the guys after sound check. Lindsay said that they’re ‘Shock reputation is essential,’ but the reality is that they are the nicest and most humbling bunch of Aussie blokes (obviously playing the same stage as Iggy Pop and NOFX doesn’t get to their head.)

In a weird way, Frenzal are kinda like the caring parents in the music industry that will do anything to support other bands. Opening for them in Adelaide was local band Bitchspawn and from Melbourne, Totally Unicorn. Bitchspawn proved that us girls can be just as punk and bad ass. Made up of three females and a male drummer, they were the perfect act to warm the crowd up and give us a taste of how BLOODY AMAZING THE REST OF THE NIGHT WOULD BE.

I openly admitted to Lindsay that I was generally scared for Totally Unicorn and thought that he might have to bring out his doctoring skills. Turns out the only thing I had to be worried about was being stabbed in the eye with a mohawk. Lead singer, Drew, spent more time in the pit than he did on the stage, personally I think that was just so we could a close-up view of his rainbow tie die undies… I can confirm that was all he was wearing. It was loud, it was sweaty and the combination of mic leads and beer on the ground is a tripping hazard for the uncoordinated and intoxicated, but Totally Unicorn were more magical and exciting than real unicorns.

There are few better moments in the world than the first couple of seconds of a band running onto the stage. It’s like BAM, all of a sudden, the music hits and you’re being thrown around in a crowd of fans that are all there for the same reason; to just have the fricken time of their lives. There was no holding Frenzal Rhomb back, they got straight into it with Classic Pervert and followed it up with their hit single, Cunt Act.

Coming from somebody who spent primary school talking to just four people, there is no easier place to make friends than in a Frenzal mosh. Just like the band, the fans might come across scary but in reality they are LOVELYYY.. not to mention loyal and screaming back every single lyric.

In classic punk style, lead singer Jay ran around the stage and sung most of the tracks off their latest, Hi-Vis High Tea. If you haven’t already checked out the album, firstly, what the hell is wrong, and secondly, be prepared to go on a journey from foods courts to pigworms to postmen. School Reunion and I’m Shelving Stacks (As I’m Stacking Shelves) just proved again that it is possible to keep releasing albums that keep getting better. They also treated Adelaide with the old goldies like Bucket Bong and I Went Out With A Hippie & Now I Love Everyone But Her.

Things just got that bit more hectic (yes, it was possible) when they finished the gig with Never Had So Much Fun and Punch In The Face. It just became one big pit of legs and arms flying everywhere, some guy walked out with a massive smile on his face and I noticed his two front teeth were missing, don’t think he was smiling about that in the morning.

When you stopped moshing, you could see the passion and chemistry that Whalley, McDougall, Crease and Forman had on stage together; they love what they do and they are pretty damn good at it too. After the show, they came out to chat, sign skate boards and cause grown men to fan girl.

I’m sure the gig is a blurry one for everyone, either it was the concussion from the pit or the beers that made everybody think they were a better singer than Jay, but there is no denying they gave us a night full of memories (some easier to remember than others).