After the heartbreaking demise of Philadelphia Grand Jury and a few teasing reunion shows, the cheeky trio of Berkfinger, MC Bad Genius and Dan W Sweat have finally returned, finishing their Summer of Doom tour in Perth Saturday night with plenty of flailing fans and sweaty, sweaty hugs.
High-tails from Sydney were up to debut their first live gig in Perth and released a set varying from pop guitar rifts spanning fast percussion and glorious organ like keys before jumping into synthy highschool prom style band tunes. Tracks like “Bending Over Backwards” and “Maps” had more than a few punters hips shaking and the set overall was just damn enjoyable. Each band member had their own little personality when playing, but it all synced to a strong performance as they seemed to amp each other up. Finishing their last song with with a good thrash on the instruments, one girl dived for a drum stick, ready to sprint away with the prize before shyly asking if they needed it back.
Then it was the moment some very keen fans were waiting for as the room filled up and edged closer to the stage. The whole atmosphere of the room seemed to change as Philadelphia Grand Jury took the stage, the excitable voice of a pre-recorded Berkfinger ringing through the speakers as he introduced himself before their first song erupted in a flurry of strobing lights. The set turned into a theatrical performance as the pre-recorded banter continued to play between each song, while the band acted their parts dramatically, MC Bad Genius and Dan W Sweat freezing during “I Don’t Want to Party” in pantomime as Berkfinger took his time taking a drink, or MC Bad Genius leaving the stage completely to hit the men’s room while Berkfinger took a wander through the crowd.
This seemed to be the turning point from a great gig to a wonderfully memorable one, as suddenly Berkfinger found himself up on someone’s shoulders, proceeding to sing the whole of “Save Our Town” from atop the crowd. It was almost spiritual, as everyone followed him through the crowd carrying the mic cable like it was a fresh pint and singing along with unbeatable energy. Done with bouncing around, Berkfinger fetched his guitar keeping to the floor as “The Good News” became a full venue karaoke track, with the crowd either clinging to Berkfinger or stealing the stage to dance with MC BD and Dan W.
The night escalated into both a riot of happiness and technical difficulties as the shouts of “99 Problems” were answered. As soon as the cover started a mosh erupted and the holy grail of the mic cable was lost with the song cut as quickly as it started, forcing Berkfinger back to the stage to continue the vocals. None of the energy was effected however, as MC Bad Genius made his cop impersonation into the now temperamental mic before leaping into the crowd to bless everyone with a sweaty embrace.
By the end, everyone was smiling and hugging everyone, it was like going on an adventure with an old friend with only good times to be had. It was certainly one of the most crowd involved gigs I have seen and you left on a high, already missing those big genuine characters with those catchy feel good tunes still in your ears.
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