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Frenzal Rhomb + Naked Wizard + Leeches @ Capitol 16/06/17 (Live Review)

One thing that you learn to expect at a Frenzal Rhomb gig is that people will usually get to the venue earlier than normal – either to get their spot, to ensure that they are drunk enough or a combination of both. Friday night at Capitol was no exception to this general rule.

This meant, of course, that there was quite a decent crowd for the first act, a band from Bunbury called Naked Wizard. They started their frenetic set with Eggs and All You Are. “We are Naked Wizard, the next song is called Naked Wizard and it’s about a Naked Wizard.”

They also played Dance With Me, Crazy Bitch, Creeper and Weekend as the mosh went off and more drinks were being spilt than drunk (though to give the guys credit…they did obtain a cloth from the bar and cleaned up after themselves – not a sight you see every day at Caps!).

Naked Wizard have a great beat to them and their lead singer, Meg, has a serious set of lungs on her – especially during Creeper. They were the perfect start to what would be a crazy evening. If you’re into your punk (and if you’re reading this, those chances are pretty high) then they are a band that you need to go check out.

Next up was one of the staples in the Perth scene, Leeches. These guys always put on a fabulous show and are so much fun to see. They started their set with Running Like The Wind, Rats and Cracked & Broken. By this stage, the alcohol was starting to reach everyone’s mouths and the pit was getting crazy. However, it was good to see that if someone slipped over, they would be picked up immediately.

Any girls in the crowd getting cracked on tonight? This one’s for you! It’s called Creep!” lead singer Benny J Ward told the audience. They also played Brain Dead, Medicine, The Cure (a song that was “the last one we played here when the tallest man got us in trouble”) and Wilding Street. There’s not much you can say about Leeches except….if you haven’t seen them yet, why the hell not? Get down to a show and see them. Bloody brilliant.

While it wasn’t a sold out show, the floor was certainly packed when the men of the hour came out on stage singing Can’t Fight This Feeling. The banter between JasonJay’ Whalley and Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDowens started immediately as they told us that being a professional unit, they practised the songs together for the first time after they had landed in Perth that day.

Whalley dedicated the first song, Classic Pervert, for the night to Violent Soho because they weren’t sure if they dressed like perverts or were dressed like they belonged in 1974. They also played Ray Ahn, Cunt Act and a song about “working at Coles and sticking pingas up your bum”, Shelving Stacks before breaking out into classics, Russell Crowe’s Band, Your Mummy Doesn’t Know That You’re a Nazi and Bucket Bong.

The new songs sounded so good live – especially because of the energy that Frenzal always have on stage. Even if they did look a little nervous before they sung each new song but that’s to be expected. Especially when there are quite a few tongue twisters in the new album.

They also played crowd favourites, Genius, Bird Attack, Not My Friend, Miss My Lung and Pigworm (a definite new favourite of mine). There were lots of crowd surfers and there was a gap between the mosh and the rest of the room as those that didn’t want to get involved with the crazy pit avoided those that were running into each other violently.

Frenzal ended their set (without actually walking off to do an encore which was refreshing) with Ship Of Beers, When My Baby Smiles At Me, You Can’t Move Into My House, Never Had So Much Fun and Punch In The Face.

While there were definitely some songs missed that people wanted to hear; including off the new album; as the old adage goes – you can’t please them all. However, everyone left with smiles on their faces and there would be many a person who would wake up feeling bruised and battered. Just what you want from a Frenzal gig. If you don’t wake up sore….you just weren’t there.

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