Violent Soho’s WACO Tour was already in full swing with its Adelaide date, having already torn through a stack of sold out shows in Brisbane and Melbourne. Joined on-stage by some of their best and most rowdy mates, the crowd was in for a treat.
Newcastle duo Gooch Palms opened the show with their unique brand of self-labelled ‘shit-pop’, donning matching three-stripe trackies to boot. Leroy and Kat powered through their relatively condensed set, offering up a taste of what’s to come on their new album, Introverted Extroverts. Their latest track “Ask Me Why” stood out from the rest, blasting through the airwaves with an electric combination of lo-fi riffs and relentless lyrics, coupled with an offbeat stage presence. They’re definitely out-of-this-world but addicting nonetheless.
Dune Rats hit the stage next, kicking their set off with Dalai Lama Big Banana Marijuana and setting the tone for the rest of their time in the spotlight. Their set was fast paced, energetic and unrelenting, running through crowd favourites “Fuck It”, “Red Light Green Light”, “Superman” and their new single “Bullshit”. A cover of Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” appeared halfway through, turning the already boisterous mosh into an utter mess. Of course, it wouldn’t be a true Dune Rats set without something a little bit crazy—this time they drank beer out of their own shoes.
Hot off their appearances at Groovin The Moo, DZ Deathrays thrashed through their set with incredible energy. “Less Out of Sync” was first up, followed by tracks like “Dollar Chills”, “Keep Myself on Edge”, “Blood on My Leather” and “Gina Works at Hearts”, traversing both of the band’s LP’s. The Queensland duo made the most of their time on stage, commanding circle pits and the crowd within. A fast-paced cover of Blur’s “Song 2” punctuated Dz Deathrays’ set, injecting the entirety of the audience with a heavy dose of absolute recklessness.
The sold-out crowd was chanting their name before Violent Soho even hit the stage. It was rowdy from the get-go and didn’t let up until the entire night was done. WACO held a heavy presence throughout the night, with tracks “So Sentimental”, “Slow Wave”, “Blanket” and “Viceroy” accounting for a large chunk midway, before “Like Soda” cropped up towards the end. Although their new release featured heavily (and rightly so), the band ensured their past releases didn’t go ignored.
“Saramona Said”, “Fur Eyes”, “Dope Calypso”, “Eat Your Parents” and “Covered in Chrome” drove the crowd wild, with lyrics being belted out almost louder than frontman Luke Boerdam could with the help of a microphone. The set progressed with an almost unbroken rhythm, track after track rolling into one another. There was minimal chatter from the band but that didn’t matter—the crowd was having too good of a time to care or even notice.
———-
