Live Review: The Scientists, Bad//Dreems, Ruined Fortune

Self-confessed noise aficionados and freedom rockers Ruined Fortune hit the stage earlier than expected and treated the reasonably filled room to some soundscapes that merged into a blend of garage-esque rock'n'roll for a while only to return to the ether of sound and smoke from which they emerged. Hooks came and went before you were able to grab them or they you. Vocals were shared between Angie Garrat's (ex Circle Pit, Straight Arrows) punk warble and Nic Warnock's (Bed Wettin' Bad Boys) more straight-up rock style. The boy has lungs. Their set dissolved into a mess of sound until one by one the band drifted away.

They were followed up by Bad//Dreems, the bad boys from Adelaide's badlands who put in a passionate, energetic set. Hard to pinpoint or pigeonhole, sometimes they sounded like '90s punk aka Blink 182 but not really... See what I mean? The songs however were what got your attention in the end, well constructed and surprising at times. Frontman Ben Marwe sometimes came across like Bruce Springsteen on too much red cordial, which was fascinating to watch.

The Scientists' original line-up of Kim Salmon, James Baker, Rodney Radalj and Boris Sujdovic played a set that was both sloppy and brilliant at times. Radalj's guitar kept tuning out (what guitars do when they wig out) so he kept having to swap guitars nearly every song. He kept smiling the whole time though, so kudos to him. Sometimes they seemed to lose the plot too; some songs didn't seem to go in the direction that Salmon and Sujdovic knew they were supposed to, but to the punters who were disappointed at this, I say, what did you expect from a band who prided themselves on being punk's answer to the overly slick, hi-fi rock that was around at the time, huh? Did you expect polished perfection? Weren't Salmon's brilliant, effortless and understated solos enough to keep you happy? Or Boris and James' solid undertow enough to keep you grounded in reality? This is rock'n'roll after all, and sometimes it gets messy.