Live Review: The Bennies, Morning Glory, Phat Meegz, Foxtrot, Wet Pensioner

Setting the bar high for the craziness to come later, Wet Pensioner take the stage in all manner of costumes – capes, masks, labcoats, handcuffs and more.

They power through a quick set of crossover thrash, culminating in a fantastic song about the film Face/Off.

Foxtrot's set, comprises mostly new songs. And, is fairly subdued compared to Wet Pensioner but still packed with sraightforward but energetic and earnest punk rock they've made their name on.

Tasmanian band Phat Meegz mostly stick to a laid back reggae sound, with a few songs that throwback more to the third wave ska and skate punk of the '90s (one song also quotes Snow's Informer.) They finish their set with a quick solo song from the singer, providing a calm moment before the high energy bands to come.

The room fills quickly now for New York's Morning Glory and it doesn't take long to see why everyone's so eager to see them. Drummer Early Gates gets the crowd chanting while the rest of the band take their places before launching into their opening song. Punx Not Dead, I Am is the set highlight and shows Morning Glory at their best. Singer Ezra Kire's heart-on-sleeve lyrics are perfect for the big crowd sing alongs we see tonight and the band clearly enjoys seeing their songs passionately shouted back at them.

“Let's smash this party!” shouts The Bennies' frontman, Anty Horgan, as the band kickstarts their set with Party Smashers. The crowd is more than happy to take on the challenge, almost instantly the room is full of people moshing, dancing, crowd surfing and shouting along. Various members of Morning Glory come out to share mics every few songs, while DJ Snes Mega adds some scratches and flourishes here and there (a mix of Queen's Bicycle Race is the perfect intro to My Bike.) Even a new song, Heavy Disco, gets the same reception as the fan favourites.

Knights Forever sees a nude stage invader and has the crowd split in half – one side singing the chorus (“don't you wish these nights go on forever”) and the other responding with the classic Angels response “no way, get fucked, fuck off”. The set is a perfect display of why The Bennies are one of the best live bands in Australia right now – there are few bands as relentlessly and shamelessly fun. Tonight everyone brought the party, but the Bennies well and truly smashed it.