Project Description
The Gooch Palms
+ Pist Idiots
+ Totty
@ The Lansdowne Hotel
05/10/2017
(Live Review)
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Newcastle 80’s glam punk-duo The Gooch Palms brought their ‘Spring Break Down Under’ tour to The Lansdowne Hotel, the spiritual home of live music in Sydney, on October 5th. Supporting the Newcastle group, were Revesby four-piece Pist Idiots and Wollongong up-and-comers, Totty.
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The Lansdowne Hotel reopened this year thanks to the legends at Mary’s, Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham, and since then its been an absolute blast of Aussie bands thronging to Sydney’s inner west. From September 20 – October 7, Rolling Stone Australia’s Live Lodge took over the Lansdowne, with an in-flux of fabulous talent packing out the small upstairs room.
Totty brought their 90’s style punk to a small but energetic crowd, delivering a short but intensely enjoyable set. The very eclectic crowd started to fill out a bit more once Pist Idiots took the stage, the crowd a sea of flying heads, hair and arms. The smallest circle pit I’ve ever seen broke out directly in front of the stage, with the energy of the band feeding the crowd and vice versa. Pist Idiots finished their riotous set with Fuck Off, with a small room of people screaming every word right back at them.
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The Gooch Palms hit the stage in overalls covered in genitalia, the same prints on the band banner behind them. Rarely have I seen a band interact and joke so much with an audience; its a really endearing aspect of the band, and, when coupled with their searing riffs and brilliant vocals, it made for a brilliant performance. Between songs, guitarist/vocalist Leroy Macqueen and drummer/vocalist Kat Friend multiple anecdotes throughout the show, ranging from the same-sex marriage debate, their undying love for Newcastle, and the troubles of getting naked on-stage in the US, served as a nice change of pace to most gigs.
Now, I must admit, I’d listened to a bit of The Gooch Palms but not enough to know most songs, and holy shit was I amazed at their raw, unbridled talent. They played a nice blend of older and newer musicThe live vocal display Macqueen puts on is something to behold, as they smashed out tracks like We Get By, Ask Me Why and Tiny Insight to the chaotic crowd, with people crowdsurfing, walking onto the stage and dancing with the band and hanging off light fixtures. They also played Slow Burner, and You, a song they dedicated to the crowd – “You little rippers…this song is for all of you! We fucking appreciate it!” By the time the final song was to be played, I thought that The Gooch Palms couldn’t hold anymore surprises – until they covered Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi, saying of the song; “I hear she took a massive creative risk on the 8.”
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The show finished to riotous applause and half the audience on the stage with the band. I didn’t know much of The Gooch Palms before heading to The Lansdowne, but their powerful, hilarious set has made me into a fan of one of Newcastle’s finest.
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