NEW YEARS EVIL

Hyde Park Hotel, West Perth

Thursday, December 31, 2009

It’s impossible to discuss this evening’s gig without reference to the fact that, after a long, slow death, the Hyde Park Hotel shut up shop over the weekend. Due to its significant contribution to local original music, punters came from miles around to pay tribute and share one last pint and counter meal. All three nights over the weekend were filled to capacity and then some, and New Year’s Evil was no exception.

Only two promoters saw the Hydey through to its dying days, and tonight Laith Tierney went out in trademark style. Thirteen bands playing over 10 hours is not atypical of the way this man operates, for better or worse, and there was representation here of all facets of the Hyde Park community - from the newest noisiest crew to the elder statesmen and stalwarts, everybody who possibly could be included was.

The very new bands, naturally, came first. Frozen Ocean are an extremely loud, surprisingly tight two-piece act who enjoyed an enthusiastic response from a dedicated early crowd of punters and barflies. Golden Staph aroused some interest with very shoegazing, unassuming indie noise punk. They were pretty good, and their music is pretty hooky, but the mannerisms of the singer, who faced the band not the audience and spent any downtime leaning casually on the bar, might only appeal to a specific demographic.

Scum Of The Earth were so new that this was their first gig - the band formed so that the members (Nick Odell and Joe Ryan of Cease) could play the show. Two improvised tracks of foreboding ambient noise and caveman drumming complimented the fact that the two men performed in nothing but underwear and accessories. Speaking of accessories, confrontational electro-punk cabaret evangelist Tomás Ford has added a few to his live show in the form of video screens with messages like ‘you are my sheep’ and ‘do not ignore me’ - as if anybody could!

The business end of proceedings kicked off with ’80s punk mish-mashers Surprise Sex Attack - on one hand playing a criminally early spot, on another proving why, by forgetting setlists and on-stage beers. The Painkillers, also on early, suited their spot a little more due to the fact that they are an acoustic act - barefoot on the sticky carpet one last time.

Shit started getting brutal with The Bible Bashers – essentially The Beverly Killbillies fronted by Laith Tyranny, again proving his worth as frontman. As the pub filled, Mongrel Country’s two hypnotic drummers pummeled the fuck out of the Hydey’s collective eardrums.

Fear Of Comedy followed on the pool room stage, and suffered a little from the poor acoustics in that room. They are a band that have never stood still despite a two year hiatus, and they employed plenty of new numbers in their set. The relentlessness of the evening became apparent as Mile End pummeled the sacred corner floor, and as The Trevallys played, the pub started to reach maximum capacity. Security seemed nervous.

Playing close to midnight, Cal Peck & The Tramps - again, such a good band - summed the spirit of the Hydey so well. The group consists of two members of seminal teen legends Mickey Flash, Callum Peck played in The Skeletones, and Dave Benck is a genuine outlaw badass. Where are bands like this going to form now?

After countdown, Raw Nerve tore up the main stage one last time. Could there be anything more iconic than Don Rat [The Rats, The Homicides] and Undies [Heist etc.] playing no-bullshit rock’n’roll on the floor they’ve destroyed so many times before?

A huge, relentless evening full of wonderful bands and performances, and of course: The Hydey. Truly a legendary venue in its day, and to the end, against all the odds, a bastion of local rock’n’roll.

_BEN WATSON