Live Review: Regurgitator, Shonen Knife, The Fauves

A 25th anniversary is surely cause for a party. But then, have Regurgitator ever needed an excuse (or permission) to party?

At the Metro Theatre, the Brisbane self-proclaimed smart arses showed off two-plus decades of material, spanning as many styles as they’ve accumulated achievements and accolades.

Before the peacock spread its feathers though, The Fauves took the spotlight for what can only be described as emo for the old. Mid-40s-aged blokes bopped along to the mediocre melodies. But in the spirit of pub-rock, their set did the job, the 'no fuss no muss' mantra applicable here. The audience were nice and warmed up for Shonen Knife, whose dazzling stage presence and alt-rock anthems were far closer to the calibre of, well, everything, of the evening’s headliners. 

Shonen Knife @ Metro Theatre. Photo by Peter Dovgan.

Onto, Regurgitator. Track 1, Fat Cop, I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff and Distractions, served as a placeholder for each era of the band’s experimentations in sound, as did the band's vivid, odd, and frequent costume changes. The word 'wacky' sprung to mind – weird and wacky little intros held up each song and were as comical as the successive songs were sonically cool. 

Though there were times at which the Gurg seemed sloppy and nonchalant, it all added to the character of the band and their performance. Punters at a Regurgitator show don’t go for spectacular production and music delivered with a particular finesse, they go because they know they’ll have fun with the band, and that the production will be just as gritty as the group. The band's typical theatrics were intertwined with several video projections, and multi-coloured lighting struck the audience through groove-worthy tracks like Bong In My Eye, the endearing bop that is Blubber Boy and the wonderfully electric Kong Foo Sing.

Regurgitator @ Metro Theatre. Photo by Peter Dovgan.

Ultimately, Regurgitator put on an entertaining show – many will agree that the only disappointment of this evening was they simply have too much awesome material to try and squeeze into one show. Then again, you can accomplish a lot in 25 years, and this evening definitely presented the choice cuts.