Live Review: The Smith Street Band

Making their third trip to Perth in what couldn't be much more than 6 months, Will Wagner & Co. drew a dedicated cohort of followers to the Rosemount yet again. The first act to warm up said audience; Coveleski drew in a fair few of their own with their moody, heavy rock and roll. With a big, but unfortunately not quite in your face sound, the set was in no way bad, but this particular performance felt like it lacked some direction and ambition.

The rather polarizing Ex-Nuns followed, wasting no time to make an impression or take swipes at the integrity of several big name acts. A hard band to digest in a brief exposure, the group certainly has something to say, and do so with stirring passion and conviction, ensuring they made plenty of fans and no doubt more than a few haters, but isn't that what punk-rock is all about that?  Melbourne's The Bennies provided act three, and Jesus Christ were they good. With ska-infused, heavy punk songs about consuming pretty much every illicit substance you could imagine, the mood swiftly turned to party, and party they did. Clearly having accumulated plenty of fans from their own ventures to Perth, the set was an absolute lesson in being main support.

All that was left was for The Smith Street Band to come in and kill it, and opening with Sunshine & Technology directly followed by I Ain't Safe was a sure fire way to do just that. From this point on though, the rest is a big beautiful blur of limbs, flannos and a shit tonne of screaming. The antithesis of most acts, raw, blemished and without an inch of conceit, the honesty the band conveys makes them one of the most refreshing acts going round. With half the crowd losing their shit to every word (that's a lot of words), the marvelous set was everything one could ask for. Playing all their big tracks, and even a promising newie, the anthemic insights into life as a twenty-something in suburban Australia yet again forced those in attendance to re-evaluate the way they see the world.