HIGH SOCIETY
THE STUKAS
Excelsior Hotel, Sydney
June 23, 2000
New
Christs shows occur with the same frequency as decent movies on cable TV, so
there was no question about NOT attending this, their first gig in seven months.
What a tumultuous lay-off it has been, with various personnel leaving (or deciding
not to) and all sorts of doubts about the band's ongoing existence. Somehow,
it wouldn't be the New Christs without a line-up change and Stewart Wilson is
on the drummer's stool, in place of Nik Reith these days. But first to the support acts. What can you say about the Stukas apart from the fact that they play no-nonsense '80s punk tuneage, wear ghoulish make-up and one of them sports a faux Mohawk haircut? That they're a cross between Crass and the Misfits, really. Their small but enthusiastic following lap it up, but it's nothing that hasn't been done before as far as this punter is concerned. Punk's not dead, it's living in Newtown.
Twin-guitar outfit High Society also wallow in retrospectivity but it's delivered with a lot of dynamics, melody, ample noise and a sense of humour. The MC5/Sonics Rendezvous Band modus operandi seems obvious ("Let's glam up some Chuck Berry tunes and wave our guitars around a lot"). Big on energy, they have a sound not far removed from the recorded oeuvre of NYC's own Mooney Suzuki. I like it, but some of the songs seemed a little underdone (something that will change in time). Worth catching again.
And so to tonight's main act, and the New Christs are playing an inner-city venue for only the first time in three years, by my reckoning. Consequently, there's a steady stream of faces at the bar who did time in similar-level bands as the New Christs back in the halcyon (pre-poker machine) days of the mid-80s. Recent ex-Christs Billy Gibson and Nik Rieth take their place next to old stagers like Mick Medew (Screaming Tribesmen) and Dave Faulkner (Hoodoo Gurus). It makes a case for a canny promoter to run a circuit of venues (if there were enough around) with shows exclusively populated by the old hands from the so-called "80s indie" scene. Someone's made a killing in recent years doing a similar thing called The Boys Are Back in Town with mainstream pub rock retreads. The current people wouldn't have to revert to type because enough of them are still doing their thing in newer outfits (cf. Medew's Blue Birds, Ian Rilen's Skindiver and Faulkner's upcoming acid punk thang, The 13th Power). It certainly would liven things up, come summer, and there's a big crowd squeezing into the cozy confines of The Ex's new-look backroom.
Much as it might have been more convenient for Rob Younger to take up with musicians who live closer to him (ie. outside metropolitan Sydney), it is truly good that most of the current line-up of the New Christs remains intact. Bass player Christian Houllemaire is rock solid when he locks in with a good drummer and adds value with backing vocals, Mark Wilkinson's dominance of guitar proceedings is borne out by his great tone and skilful fretwork and Al Creed fills out the sound nicely. They're clearly people Rob enjoys working with, and collectively they never cease to amaze with the intensity of their shows (which seems at odds with the amount of times they play live.) And this is the core of the line-up that comes closest to the one that cut the "Distemper" album.
Maybe it was first night nerves (though, by the look of him he's fearless) but new drummer Stewart Wilson is there before anyone else and stands out with his shock of snow-white hair. The guy can cut the mustard as a player too, though a couple of the songs seem a bit faster (which is an objective opinion rather than a judgement.) He hits hard, too.
"We Have Landed" is the customary set opener and things are off to a good start. A fired-up "When" follows before a diversion into older territory, with "Only a Hole" from "Woe Betide", a venerable tune now played with a slightly-different feel. "Fall of Rome" is even older and sits well. The tour de force from the "Lower Yourself" album - the menacing title track - uncoils in all its glory, and the band is in top gear.
"Annalise" still provides one of the best melodies the New Christs have ever come up, but pales next to the power and drive of "Born Out of Time", a song dating from the very early days. It's always provided room to roam and tonight it morphs into "Shaking All Over" before heading back on its way.
Other highlights: "On Top", a song that we can only hope is one of the six partly recorded and in the can as it's been in the set since the '97 European tour; "Here and Now", a cut that inexplicably only made it to the bonus EP that came with early versions of the last album; the usually unheard "In State"; and the raging cover of the Who's "The Seeker".
Melbourne shows are in the wind, then probably only one more in the Wollongong area before the Olympics occupy Chris Houllemaire (as an interpreter for the French team.) Let's hope other commitments leave time for the partly-completed album to be finished and more live shows. Few bands come close.
- The Barman
