Live Review: Future Of The Left, The Love Junkies, Rag n Bone

Wielding the talent to share a stage with anyone at Badlands, Rag n Bone's angst-ridden tones reverberated through the venue's faux stalactites. While the likes of The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter flaunted their obvious songwriting chops, guitarist Axel Carrington's tendency to eschew rational song structures in favour of Jonny Greenwood-esque panic attacks was an indisputable highlight.

The Love Junkies' progression shows no signs of slowing and, despite dramas with malfunctioning equipment, their volcanic energy overcame all obstacles tonight. A band that's more comfortable headlining than on support duty, they nonetheless pulverised cuts from their Cough And Splutter EP and proved that sometimes one-note riffs are the most brutal.

Returning to Perth for the first time in six-and-a-bit years, Future Of The Left's Andy "Falco" Falkous moodily stalked the stage before glowering his way through The Lord Hates A Coward and Arming Eritrea, the latter with lyrics that could almost have been an ironic tribute to Rick And Morty had it not been written five years before Season One. The atmosphere loosened up a little when, in between songs, Falco let rip invective targeting everyone from Megadeth ("a band so Republican they have literally no imagination") to Morrissey.

"This is a cover," Falco announced before plunging into To Hell With Good Intentions - one of a handful classics aired tonight from his old band Mclusky - sparking wild scenes at the front where feisty acolytes clashed like delinquents from Cardiff's notorious Queen Street. The volatile reactions continued as the band explored all sides of their creativity with an obstreperous Robocop 4 - Fuck Off Robocop and the wild lyrical deviancy of Singing Of The Bonesaws. The finale constituted a bout of barely controlled instrumental chaos with Falco dismantling and repositioning Jack Egglestone's kit across different parts of the stage while he continued drumming. Falco then rejoined the melee by rhythmically scraping his guitar strings across the metal rim of the snare drum. Those who were baffled probably made the mistake of searching for a hidden meaning, while those in the know absorbed every last ounce of the uninhibited mayhem.

While some patrons, prior to the show, expressed a great nostalgia for Falco's former band Mclusky, tonight was incontrovertible evidence that Falco's passion, corrosive wit and rampant unpredictability continues to thrive in Future Of The Left.