To say that the punk community of Brisbane was waiting for this show would be an understatement. The lineup to get into the Zoo almost had as many people in it as the entire crowd was on my last foray into this venue on Thursday night. After about 15 minutes watching the great mix of old and new punks in the line, we finally got in.
Headaches, featuring half of the band the Gifthorse started off the show just as I was making my way up the stairs to suss out the large selection of merch, including a few excellent limited edition vinyl (I managed to score the Bouncing Souls/Hot Water Music split 7", where they cover each other's songs). They played a very short set to a rapidly filling venue, blasting us with their hardcore punk.
Next up a small man took to the stage with his acoustic guitar and little golf cap, blowing the crowd away with large voice. Dave Hause, the lead singer of the punk band the Loved Ones belted out a bunch of his songs, switching between acoustic and electric guitar with no backing. He seemed ecstatic to be there and even more excited when the crowd started singing along to his songs. He got a great response to some of the Loved Ones more popular songs, some of which I even recognized and sang along to. But the crowd went wild when Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music came out to help him sing.
The sold out crowd was then at capacity as Dave cleared his own gear from the stage and started helping the next band set up. Apparently he was paying his way on to the tour by being a roadie. But when he finished setting up, the legendary and oft-elusive Hot Water Music came on to stage. The crowd at this point featured many members of Brisbane's punk scene (I saw so many band members of punk bands old and new) and all were seemingly here for this moment. And none were disappointed. They played through most of their songs, the highlights for me was Rooftops (with a great crowd singalong) and Remedy. It was an amazing set, even though Chuck seemed to struggle a bit with his vocals. But given it was the last day of the tour and he was still putting his everything into the music, I'm not surprised.
A few people left after Hot Water Music, but there was no way in hell I was going to leave for the Bouncing Souls, one of my all time favourite bands. They came out to loud cheers from the crowd and launched straight into a set list of classic punk. They pulled out songs from their entire 20 year career, except for songs of the Gold Record album. I guess they agree with most fans about the not-so-quality of the songs on that album.
Although the band was clearly high, with puffs of smoke appearing every now and then, they put on a great set. It's been an age since I have sung along to almost every lyric of a band's set, but it seemed most of the Zoo were going along with it. They took requests from the crowd playing songs that people requested, including an old rarity Inside Out. My night was made however when they pulled out Manthem (set here to some brutal crashes). The whole crowd pumping their fists in the air and chanting oi was just magical. All in all they played over an hour set before leaving the stage to a crowd that was absolutely in punk nirvana.
But little did we know that it was just about to get better. Dave Hause came out to get the guitars ready for the encore, or so we thought. He ended up picking one up and belting out his song Jane. Halfway through though, a mixture of both the Bouncing Souls and Hot Water Music came out to be the band. Following that, the Bouncing Souls took over the instruments, with Chuck Ragan coming out to play Hot Water Music's Wayfarer. By about halfway through the song Dave and Hot Water Music were all out on stage, switching instruments mid song and all singing along (as well as numerous stage crashers and divers getting in on it). They then all joined together for an absolutely stunning rendition of Bouncing Souls' True Believers.
The encore itself was amazing, but set to the backdrop of the entire gig, it could be my favourite show of 2010. I am still getting goosebumps as I type this up the next morning. If anyone has the footage of the encore, please link me to it!
EDIT: Here's the encore footage mother truckers!
It was a pretty special night. And while Hot Water Music were undoubtedly the highlight, Dave Hause was a revelation. Never been much of a Loved Ones fan, but his solo work is brilliant.
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