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PRIVATE FUNCTION
with 30/70
@ Sidney Myer Music Bowl,
Melbourne
22nd February, 2021
(Live Review)

Reviewer – Brandon Valentine

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Private Function

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When trying to convey the full extent of the glorious punk filled fiendishness I witnessed at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Monday night, one does not simply discuss onstage vibes and the audience’s adoration. No! You have to express that it is a veritable snack for a cynical soul, complete with theatrics, pyrotechnics… and even an execution!

Before the insanity held sway; 30/70 laid down infectious grooves that fuse soul, 90’s lounge, jazz and wonderfully nuanced vocal tones that conjure images of Nai Palm. With a sense of optimism, vocalist Allysha Joy held court over a dreamy bed of sassy saxophone, dramatic drums and melodious musicality. 30/70 never felt the need to rocket off into a crescendo, instead they invited us bathe in the sonic landscape which they have made with such care and attention to detail.

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30/70

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The mantra like state 30/70 had placed us in was soon pierced, as the subtle and inspiring tones of ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly) begin to flow across the open fields ­of the Botanical Gardens. As the audience stood to attention, Private Function exploded into the main riff from Metallica’s ‘Creeping Death’.

This is not the first cheeky reference to Metallica that the band has made, in 2019 Private Function released their full length LP ‘St. Anger’, named and stylized after the metal giant’s 8th studio album. Saying in an interview with The Music “We wanted to harken back to the halcyon days of 2003, when our only concerns were new episodes of Malcolm In The Middle and the risk of being sued by Lars for downloading Metallica songs.”

This brilliantly irreverent attitude was carried into musical action from the start, hitting us hard with ‘I Don’t Want To Make Out With You’. Immediately you are met with the band’s ferocity and unique brand of cynical humour, blending political and cultural angst with a meme-tastic snark. This is where punk shines, both musically and idealistically.

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Nowhere in the show was this more excellently exemplified than the vicious track ‘I Wish Australia Had It’s Guns Again’. Whipping the crowd into a call and response chant, screaming the line made famous by The Angles, “No way, Get f#$ked, F#$K OFF!’ in retort of the song’s title line.

Straying into some anti-consumerist satire, the band was joined on stage by the legendary Gobbledok, the 90’s mascot for Smith’s Crisps. A distinctly terrifying being so bereft of charm that it is a miracle that this carb circulating company did not crumble under the weight of a thousand children’s tears.

Needless to say, I was entertained and enthralled when front man, Chris Penney, put this nighties nightmare fuel where it belongs… in an electric chair. To the sound of applause and stomping feet, the switch was flicked and the band crashed into the frantic track ‘Static Electricity’. A short and too the point cut which was placed back-to-back with ‘Irresponsible Dog Owner (I’m An)’.

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Private Function // Photo – Lauren Connelly

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At every turn there were references to Australian music of yesteryear, inclusive of a cover of the Midnight Oil classic ‘King of The Mountain’ that was fraught with intense energy and a filthy dose aggression. The Australiana continued with a new instalment to Stevie Wright’s saga, ‘Evie Pt. 4’. A potent, dynamic and thematic duet that welcomed the bombastic Jade Green from DickLord to the stage.

The show ramped into it’s final crescendo with cuts such as ‘Sleep Paralysis’ & the criminally short ‘Grabbing My Butt’. The abhorrent Gobbledok was revived and Private Function’s onstage insanity was thrown into overdrive. Surrounded by pyrotechnics and with bassist Canadian Joe hurtling their instrument 20 feet into the air, before performing a running jump that I am damn sure ended in a concussion. All to be topped of with the tease of the band returning to stage, only for Chris Penney to say with tongue in cheek “There will be no encore, f#$k you!”

This was honestly one of the most brilliantly bizarre and viscerally vicious spectacles I have bared witness to in an eon. If it’s pure punk chaos and cultural catharsis you seek, you’d be hard pressed to find a better show.

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Private Function

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Check out PRIVATE FUNCTION below
Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram

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Private Function

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AMNPLIFY – DB