Live Review: Hard- Ons, Cosmic Psychos, Chinese Burns unit, All For Jesse

Celebrating 30 years of Hard-Ons, this tour is entirely by fan request. After all this time they still have the crazy glint in their eye of an underage kid buying his first beer. Hard-Ons have swung from Ramones punk-pop to the thrash of The Exploited, and they rolled it all out – from their very first release, The Girl In The Sweater, to Dull.  It was a show for the fans, with Peter Kostic joining them on stage for a few tracks as well as a huge double drums encore with Murray Ruse.
For 30 years Cosmic Psychos have been shadowboxing Hard-Ons throughout Australian pubs. They started with very similar sounds, but the epic experiences of the Psychos led them to a more bogan lilt in their lyrics and larrikinisms. Lost Cause and Nice Day To Go To The Pub made the pit feral. The love between the bands is genuine, with dedications to the biggest dreamers in Sydney thrown in amongst a torrent of piss-taking.
Chinese Burns Unit dedicated Buy The Farm to Doc Neeson and answered only to their Reptilian Overlords. These guys pick up where Frenzal left off, shock and awe mixed with acerbic humour and beer. It's a great recipe.
All For Jesse were a light and fluffy way to start the night, with loose awareness of timing and other band members, but a sharp plug for their Facebook page. With bonus points for the Goldfinger cover, their sound is more Blink-182 than DRI.
Thirty years ago the first mobile phone went on sale. It cost $4,000. And four boys came together in a bedroom and decided to play music. Long live Hard-Ons.