By Steve "Shelvo" Shelverton
You’ve heard the expression to go out with a bang, right? Well, what about to go out with one of the most epic Australian rock moments in history? The stuff of legends that immortalises itself in memories that you’ll be telling your Australian music loving peers forever. That was happened on Saturday 16th September 2023 at the Factory Theatre in Sydney.
I’ve already reviewed the shit out of the DZ Deathrays R.I.F.F tour. I’ve seen them on three dates of the tour, not counting the apocalyptically insane album launch at the Crowbar in Sydney, where the crowd was pulsing bare millimetres away from Shane’s face as he belted out new songs for the first time live. I remember the monstrous thundering of Luke’s bass, Simon beating the skins of his drums til they were about to pop, all while Lachie (AKA- RIFF LORD) got swallowed up in the voracious, sweaty crowd that tried to devour him like Bobba Fett in the Sarlacc Pit in the Dune seas of Tatooine.
A few months later on the Sunny Coast of QLD, I was blessed to be able to interview the most-humble gentlemen on tour and be part of celebrating Luke Henery officially joining the band. Even after seeing the lads for about the 9th time, the final show of tour was still something else though. Every time I see them, I doubt they can top the antics of the last show, and yet somehow, they do.
Starting out the night was dust. The Newcastle post-punk collective is getting stronger with each show, with the vocal flexing and that sax, that sexy sax! It just sets everyone off each show. This time the lads were like an old Sergeant Major, instructing the crowd to move to the front of the venue! Following the example of their fearless leaders DZ Deathrays and Press Club, the crowd marched along in step, squishing up against the barrier to witness a well tweaked set.
An observation I’ve seen in the industry is if the main act come out to watch the support acts, it’s a professional sign of respect and courtesy. Even after 20 shows, Lachie still stands there each show with a beaming smile. Lachie was the driving effort to bring dust on tour. It was a reflection of the love and mutual respect the bands have for each other.
Next up were Melbourne indie punks Press Club. Firstly, let’s be real, does Natalie even need a microphone? That lady could cause an avalanche with her vocal power alone. Her physicality on stage is as entertaining as it is impressive. During their set, she was cartwheeling around and running in and out of the crowd.
At one point, she ran all the way to the back of the pit floor and sang in my partners face! It was both intimidating and beautiful at the same time. She’s a high-calibre performer who breezes through an on-stage aerobics workout with the vocal capacity of a banshee, all while backed up by the smooth sounds of Greg, Fitzy (filling in for Iain), and Frank. Press Club are definitely an experience to be seen live.
When I see David “Bunny Man” Herington start prepping the stage, I get that nervous sense of anticipation worthy of a pre-State of Origin decider. But what I wouldn’t pay to just see Bunny Man belt into a one-man solo on drums, bass and guitar – just once.
DZ Deathrays hit the stage around ten thirty and launched right into Hope For The Best. From the get go, it was absolutely frantic. Luke Henery was sick as a dog prior to the show, wearing a mask and trying to stay upright, but nothing was going to stop him from giving his all to be on stage. His bass is now well at home wedged into the DZ wall of sound.
Next up was Tuff Luck and IN-TO-IT. Only a few songs in and the crowd was swirling in a constant barrage of circle pits, collisions, and mini walls of death right before me. I observed this from the raised safety off the floor (I’m too old and broken to mosh). During Total Meltdown, Quintin Low spent more time in the air than on the ground. He has an alter ego at DZ gigs, and I worry like a concerned parent for his safety when he exits the pit with a dark contusion on his forehead. (Editor’s Note: Some bloke elbowed me in the head by accident, it was a good shot!)
Less Out of Sync and the bonkers track that is Reflective Skull follow afterwards, with the stage lights hitting Luke’s animated face at an angle that cast dark shadows against his staunch figure, his grimaces in the likeness of a maddened grim reaper of doom. Ocean Exploder has Shane migrate to the floor of the pit, and return to the track that is mutating out of control… Afterwards, the band play Paranoid, or as I call it “Simon’s Revenge”. This is his track, I love his drumming on it, belting out the loudest lightning-like symbol crashes I’ve ever heard in a frenzy.
This time My Mind is Eating Me Alive was different, it was the best rendition of it I’d heard. Luke’s bass was super rich with the mosh taken over by ladies that felt the overwhelming urge to dance. It’s just that kind of a funky, hooky track. It was a glorious sight to see this pause in the hectic agitation of a male dominated mosh pit and see them embrace the spectrum of the DZ sound in a new way.
Shred for Summer saw Lachie dangling on side of stage, like a fisherman reeling in riff after riff in his steely hands, shredding so hard his fingers should have fallen off. Anyone would think it was their last show. Against the madness I saw Bunny Man taking photos with an old school film camera, he is all style that bloke.
Cops Capacity is the ultimate in crowd participation. I saw Sydney locals that I recognised from the Crowbar album launch, throwing the chorus right back at Shane “Better buy me some trouble… Better buy me some wow… Cops Capacity, Cops – Cops Capacity!” . It was house party mania at its premium. No Sleep was the anthem for the evening no doubt and was then followed by the very lush sounding King B.
Before the end of the set, I notice a very familiar looking face watching from the crowd… Oh, my fucking God!!!! Is that… the grand pooh-bah himself? Is that Murray Cook the Red Wiggle? It is!!! Looking stealthy in all black, no signs of red. He is a national treasure; he might even nudge past Quintin to be the DZ #1 fan!
DZ treat the audience with respect, no false trickery of the predictable encore that so many other acts do. They play til they’re saturated in sweat and tell you how many tracks are left. I fucking love that. Besides we all know it’s going to be Gina Works At Hearts. Remember when I said go out with a bang, right?
Well have you heard Gina with I don’t know… a saxophone? Four additional guitarists? The strongest female vocalist in Australia? Keyboards? And about a dozen of Australia’s strongest musical talents all belting out the celebration of a twenty stop national tour! It was the epic conclusion of, as Shane said, a family. The R.I.F.F family.
That wailing saxophone. A crowd that was writhing in extreme ecstasy at what the actual fuck was happening before us! It was more stage theatre than heavy rock. This had to be the greatest exclamation of climax to a tour I had ever seen. The song ended with Lachie holding the sax, and being carried off stage by the boys from dust, while Greg from Press Club was taunting Bunny Man that he would throw Lachie’s guitar into the pit! Simon was swapping in and out with the other drummers, it was a sensational cacophony of joy to behold.
A big thank you to dust, Press Club and the kings of hard and heavy – our blessed DZ Deathrays, for this wild and wonderful ride around Australia. We wish you well on the Darkness tour, and will see the other part of the R.I.F.F family at the next live gigs.
Steve ‘Shelvo’ Shelverton is a music loving tragic without any musical talent, so he writes about it instead.
Big shout out to Nathan Rathsam for all the amazing photo’s of the night, check out his work at @nathanrathsamdp!
Remember to support live music in Australia, go to gigs, buy merch, support the artists and the venues. But above all else, Remember It’s For Fun!