Favourite bands past and present


Hahaha. And that UF show was at the Irish club...and it was straight edge, no alcohol! LT & Leroy gypped us. Peep-a-view, I can see you...and I know what you do...
Clowns at the Crown featuring Hu Flung Dung?


Actually, was it a UF show? Or some other incarnation?
BYO helmets, not beers, but.


Recalcitrant Sunday. A few more memorable gigs with some bands previously mentioned.
Beastie Boys, 1st tour, Adelaide. Check Your Head had just come out, and they were still on the down-low, somewhat. Still a gig for true believers (why it was on at the Old Lion Hotel, I s'pose).
A bulk of the audience: old hip hop and graff crew. The Adelaide Writer community. Touring hip hop acts were few and far between back then.
The Meanies were the 'support'. The poor buggers were going down like a lead balloon with this aforementioned, somewhat raucous and excitable, cohort. Robust heckling, some reluctant to-and-fro, perhaps a beverage or three proffered to the band from long range. Poor old Wally was at a loss. How to gain some respect? "I know, I'll stage dive into the crowd! That'll show 'em I'm 'core' too, after my own fashion" (note: it was a pretty low stage and all)
Well, I guess it was in hindsight...as he got absolutely flogged. I think a fire extinguisher was involved at one stage. He may have even lost a dreadlock or two. Poor dumb bastard. Set over.
Tough crowd.
I remember a same same but different sorta gig experience seeing the two 6ft Hicks at the Tote in Melbs. Back in their up n coming days. Had a whiff of private school about them, though. And humourless. Anyway, some attempted and ultimately unwelcomed crowd participation (initiated on their part); a subsequent 'Glasgow kiss' (which wasn't in their script I daresay); perhaps some (alleged) stubby work; broken glass; screaming patrons; mere (yet at least real) anarchy loosed, briefly, upon the world; lights up...though the performance did eventually go on...apparently...as the recalcitrant punters were punted.
Good times!
Actually, I saw 'em again, not that long ago in a Freo dive establishment. Touring with the Hard Ons. Hmmm, shirts were still off, trying to muster something I guess, though the 'relaxed and comfortable' dad bods gave it all away. Too much ice cream with the kids. It was a 'back to the bar, wait for the main event' occasion. Ah well, back to the chickens, boys. Less fried, but.


thermalben wrote:I mean, what a song!
Thats a ripper Ben, missed them completely and will now needs deep dive.
Btw Seeds, 6 foot hick are fantastic., great live too. As were this band.


I was thinking about my best/most memorial gigs during the week while working, in no real order funny enough the Aussie bands were often the highlight rather than big name international bands.
Tumbleweed, You Am I, Fridge: my first proper gig You Am I had only released EP's and were actually quite heavy live at that stage.
Melb Big Day Out 1994: Ramones, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, lots of great Aussie bands it was my first festival so just a great day, went to another half dozen BDO's but none came close to being as good and they quickly just became too big.
Livid festival 1994: I also went in 96 at Davies park and a few other times when it moved to the Show grounds (which ruined it), but 94 was the year for me my two fav bands at the time were Superchunk and Tumbleweed and both had amazing sets.
Tim Rogers solo at the Corner Hotel: about 96 this one was a real surprise it was before he released any solo stuff so he played mostly You Am I songs, went with a GF didnt go expecting a lot but it was just a real cool intimate gig.
Screamfeeder at the Punters club Fitzroy: maybe early 95, was down in the city visiting friends, and spur of the moment thing decided to see who was playing in the gig guide, knew a couple Screamfeeder songs taped from radio so went and saw Screamfeeder and was blown away they mostly played stuff off "burn out your name" that is an amazing album.
Queens of the Stone age with Magic Dirt at the Prince of wales 2001 Rated R tour
Relatively small venue/pub which you could never see them in now and Magic Dirt played all their older heavier songs (before they sucked), QOTSA kind of lost me once Nick got kicked out, first three albums are good though.
Celibate Rifles at the Tote only a few years back, id seen them a few times but im just glad i went to this gig because Damien passed away a year or two latter, and i had a little chat with him in the toilet they were just as good as they were in the 90s, rated highly by most surfers of our age, but in general i think an underrated Aussie band.
Something for Kate corner hotel about 96: Supporting someone else can't remember who and ironically i think the other support band was Sandpit, i had bought the EP and was into them (first EP, much heavier than latter stuff) and got my GF at the time into them, they didnt pull much of a crowd yet so everyone was standing back near the bar and side of room, so we went and sat on the floor a few meters from stage (maybe 2ft high stage) and felt like our own private gig, cool experience
The Meanies: Always good to see just a fun band and as a grommet in the early 90s moshing and crowd surfing was popular so extra crazy gigs, i remember one gig at the Central club in Richmond where the stage is only three foot off the ground so you literally ran behind link and dived off the stage into the crowd. (BTW. Wally is the Bass player Link lead singer who had dreads for much of the 90s)
Silverchair Melb Big Day Out 95: Like everyone i wrote them off at the time, but i still had to go check out the hype of this new band, they played on a small side stage, so the area couldn't hold the crowd that wanted to see them so everyone got on the roofs of buildings and up anything with some height, i watched the gig from a roof, and i swear id been moshing with Daniel at Magic Dirt earlier that day. (he did go on to date Adalita so im sure he was a fan)
Dino Jr-The Palace' without a sound tour, so maybe 95: Id missed out on tickets for first show so caught the bus to the city to buy some for the second show once id heard it announced on RRR, but I tripped over and broke my arm running down Little Bourke street to Augo-go records, but i still went with a broken arm a few weeks latter, and i went with Incursion the band that supported them the night before, so that was cool.
Archers of loaf & Magic Dirt: Great Northern, only seen them once and love this band, bass player is a weapon, was living in my Kombi at the time traveling so brings back good memories.
Superchunk: about 96, i saw them four times twice in Sydney twice in Melb kind of lost me after Here's where the strings come in album, i prefer their early albums, but sound wise i think they are one of the best bands live.
Sebadoh: Seen them a few times another band that can sound so amazing live, they just seem really clever in that they mix it up and play mellow clean songs without distortion and then straight after play heavy fuzzed out songs, those songs then sound so loud but not distorted.
While many bands just try to blow you away with being too loud all the time and it loses its impact, dynamic are important.
Most disappointing gig. The Cure about 2000, first stadium gig id been too and my last, just hated the vibe Robert Smith was a dot far away on stage, i love the cure but more the hits/singles but the set was aimed more at hardcore know every track from every album fans.
Worst gig: Screaming Jets, The Edge Gold Coast, I lived two blocks from The Edge for a few years and at one stage they had lots of bands play, some mates dragged me along but i was hungover, it was so shit and i hate the band so i left early.
Fav venues: (in no order)
-The Tote in Collingwood-Just a classic dirty rock and roll hole where you feel like you could be stabbed in the toilets.
-The Central Club Richmond- for a period in the 90s it got a lot of great bands so holds a lot of memories.
-The Corner Hotel Richmond- Just a great all round good venue with variety of stages ect and decent sounding room.
- Great Northern Byron Bay- I use to go down almost every weekend for a while when lived on the Goldie, just a good sized room and well designed floor can see the band from pretty much everywhere.(havent been there for about 15+ years though so may be different now)
-The Playroom on the Gold Coast, saw lots of bands there just classic venue for the Goldie and sad when it was lost.
Fav festivals:
Livid at Davies park, just perfect size crowd, lots of grass and trees and circus tents for shade just a real good vibe.
The Offshore festivals when Bells were on were good too, camp for a few days, go watch the comp during the day, and then some good bands late arvo into the night.
Festivals are always good in regard to seeing bands that you might not otherwise check out.


all over it indo. sick


haha. Not sure i remember the clowns 'shitshow' but definitely been a few shitshows after the odd game of rimmers around the same time. Sheeesh!
haha. That's some proper screamcore Snuff. Made my ears bleed on this quiet sunday morning!


Lancelot Link...Wally Walpamur...whatever.
Meanies were soft as Yarra Valley Double Brie.
Certain bits of the 90s...a cavalcade of meh.


bluediamond wrote:haha. Not sure i remember the clowns 'shitshow' but definitely been a few shitshows after the odd game of rimmers around the same time. Sheeesh!
haha. That's some proper screamcore Snuff. Made my ears bleed on this quiet sunday morning!
The Clowns at the Crown shit Show involved some one hanging a steaming nugget and wrapping it in bog roll and dropping it in the mosh pit causing a slow but mass evacuation leaving the nuggeteir in stitches. That is what I witnessed that fateful night.


hahaha! Could be any number of culprits that spring to mind from those days.


I thought they hit the Clowns with it. Dirty protest.
Oh, the humanity, punk.


A sense of humour is paramount.


ahh the shit you find when you have a little browse of the YT files.
This was a show i would definitely have been at because i distinctly remember one of our good mates Boner, getting a haircut from Guttermouth mid set. haha. Somewhere about the 2 minute mark. Was good to see he at least had his clothes on this time!
As a sidenote, the best show i can remember our own band ever playing live was on this same stage within a month or so of this show. Flinders Uni Bar. I'll never forget that show....could have walked on water after that show. Other notable mentions were the front bar of the Crown and the Holdy hotel in Glenelg, and a few of those smaller little pubs in Adelaide with Atmosphere...Crown and Anchor, Crown and Sceptre, and of course, the infamous Middleton Tavern shows!! haha.
Price of Silence at Seacliff SLSC was easily the most violent night of music i've ever been to. That was some messed up stuff. Everywhere you looked bashings, cops, just nuts. Pretty sure that show got shut down.
As for poogate above, i suspect that Snuff and Constance may know a little more inside information than they're letting on. ;-)


What was the name of your band BD?


goofyfoot wrote:bluediamond wrote:Yeah thats a cracker Ben. I feel like this may have been on one of the old campaign vids. Maybe to A.I. sick song.
Mental song. One that always got played as loud as possible at 4:00 am mid bender with the lads ha ha.
I reckon you’re right too bd, Andy in Indo I think, maybe Bruce, but I think Andy. Going beserk at MacaronisOther epic mid-bender songs while I’m on the subject are The Pot by Tool, wolf like me by tv on the radio, anything by Cog, My Pal by god, only way out by money for rope…. That’ll do for now
Love this shout out of The Pot by Tool. A rolling beast of a tune, when those drums take over it always gets me going.




Constance B Gibson wrote:Lancelot Link...Wally Walpamur...whatever.
Meanies were soft as Yarra Valley Double Brie.
Certain bits of the 90s...a cavalcade of meh.
The Meanies as support for Beasties is just a horrible pairing, it's hard enough at the best of times being a support act for a big name band when everyone just wants to see the main band, but being a support act for a total different genre is never going to go down well, that mix is nearly as bad as when Powderfinger & Silverchair supported Pantera
Soft is a word ive never heard them described as though, ive seen them at least a dozen times and some gigs were just craziness.
Ray Ahn of Hard-Ons sums things up pretty good here
"The Meanies are still one of, if not the best, Australian band. I saw them play from their beginning, and the striking thing about the Meanies is that they do not ever put forward mediocrity. Every live show is action-packed and Link leads the way – if anybody was born to front a band, it was he.
In 1990 I saw Link cut his chest up with some sharp stage debris during their set. The blood seeped through his shirt vulgarly and many in the crowd were visibly upset and sickened. In 1994 I saw Link shove a drumstick up his date and point his entire moon at the ceiling, all the while singing his head off. After the song, whilst removing the drumstick from his person, he remarked to the audience, “They come in pairs, don’t they?” which made the audience flinch as one.
Imagine these ridiculous impromptu parlour tricks coupled with the best power-pop songs ever written and you will feel the insane legend that is the Meanies."
https://beat.com.au/30-years-of-the-meanies-spiderbait-frenzal-rhomb-and...
Not every gig is full of that crazy shit, luckily he has dropped the self mutilation shit long ago, but he still is an amazing front man and as crazy as a cut snake


Yes, your idea of 'crazy*' is consistent with every other single thing you post anywhere ever, id.
And I'm not just talking about your little 90s laundry list earlier on in this thread.
Krazeee. Just don't shit yourself, and/or inadvertently smear your disco duds.
*not to be confused with some HST 'bad craziness'.


Actually, every time the Meanies popped up in town supporting someone you'd wanna see in the immediate years following (supporting DOA and NoMeansNo? Or was that Front End Loader? Same same, kinda lame. Hang on, supporting Bad Brains? Whatever, I forget their specific presence...and THAT was a sick gig BTW), it was funny to rev 'em up with a reminder of that Beasties gig. Other than that, as I say, always forgettable.
Wait, did I see them at my local tav once...freebie ticket...who cares?
But hey! I hear there's a Frenzal Spider Meanies Greenchair Silverspoon J's reunion tour in the wind. Bless.
Yew!
It's a pants-shitter!


Different strokes for different folks...
You sure are an A grade fuckwitt though, and sadly from what ive been told and what ive seen it's sadly not an act.


Hahahahaha. The 90s called, id, they want their 'fuckwitt' back.
Keep on sadly creepin', creepy.


The Sandpebbles for their original music and their occasional forays into Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground.


^ their best.


I dated a gal (this was in 1994) who worked as a secretary for some law firm that had to do with the first Lollapalooza (1991). She told me how Perry Farrell was in a meeting with a buncha high powered muckety-mucks, and he just opened a kit bag, tied off his arm, and injected himself with heroin. Right there at the conference table. None of the muckety-mucks said anything, but had to be uncomfortable, lol. She was a HUGE Jane's Addiction fan, so she related this story with warmth and admiration.


Constance B Gibson wrote:Hahahahaha. The 90s called, id, they want their 'fuckwitt' back.
Keep on sadly creepin', creepy.
Hey Connie how come every thread on Swellnet turns to abusive shit as soon as you open your cakehole. For once just zip it and let the rest of us enjoy a thread about something we enjoy without your adolescent input.


Awww, poor widdle id. The midnight creeper.
Bless, Gazza, bless.


It's kind of weird how people passionately hate on others taste in music or bands or styles etc.
I use to be like that in the 90s, if everyone else was listening too it, it wasn't cool and indie enough for me, my mates were right into all the drop D stuff or popular stuff, Pearl Jam, Sound garden, Tool, Grinspoon, Silverchair and i wrote it all off at the time, but now i love that stuff too.
I mean i still don't get into stuff like Korn, Screaming Jets or Spin Doctors and might make a little joke if my mate plays them, but i dont hate them, its just not my thing.
I love 90s music, but I'm also a huge fan of lots of stuff from the 80s(especially late), 70s and especially late 60s, and some post 00's stuff, i try to get into new stuff but the music scene is just so saturated its hard to know where to start and too easy to just go nah, click next instead of investing time into it, which most good music needs.
Probably one of my biggest gig regrets is not going to see Jack Johnston at some beer garden in Surfers one night with my flat mates (a couple)the first time he came to Aus, i use to say if i wanted to listen to that type of music ill listen to Ben Harper, then when i married my misses i bought her the first two Jack Johnston albums and now i love those albums, just good music for relaxing.
I dont care if its uncool anymore or whatever..


I haven’t heard jack johnson or bob marley since the pandemic started , it’s because I haven’t been to Bali in that time .


indo-dreaming wrote:It's kind of weird how people passionately hate on others taste in music or bands or styles etc.
I use to be like that in the 90s, if everyone else was listening too it, it wasn't cool and indie enough for me, my mates were right into all the drop D stuff or popular stuff, Pearl Jam, Sound garden, Tool, Grinspoon, Silverchair and i wrote it all off at the time, but now i love that stuff too.
It's interesting that you don't look into/dismiss current music, but will reappraise these god-awful bands.


indo-dreaming wrote:It's kind of weird how people passionately hate on others taste in music or bands or styles etc.
I use to be like that in the 90s, if everyone else was listening too it, it wasn't cool and indie enough for me, my mates were right into all the drop D stuff or popular stuff, Pearl Jam, Sound garden, Tool, Grinspoon, Silverchair and i wrote it all off at the time, but now i love that stuff too.
It's interesting that you don't look into and/or dismiss current music, but will reappraise these god-awful bands








"It's interesting that you don't look into and/or dismiss current music, but will reappraise these god-awful bands."
Hahahahaha. Cheers for the Monday morning japes, Hiccups.
The thought processes revealed in the thousands and thousands of comments are always fascinating. Well, up to a very tiny point. Always the intent rather than the content, of course.
Release the id, indeed!
And cheers Gaz for the irie. I'm feeling Marcus Garvey's ghost...


Hiccups wrote:indo-dreaming wrote:It's kind of weird how people passionately hate on others taste in music or bands or styles etc.
I use to be like that in the 90s, if everyone else was listening too it, it wasn't cool and indie enough for me, my mates were right into all the drop D stuff or popular stuff, Pearl Jam, Sound garden, Tool, Grinspoon, Silverchair and i wrote it all off at the time, but now i love that stuff too.
It's interesting that you don't look into/dismiss current music, but will reappraise these god-awful bands.
Sorry but your making assumptions that are just not true.
Im always on the look out for new bands through all kinds of different avenues, but i find it really hard to find new bands/music i like these days.
Apart from the fact im getting old and set in my ways and like all humans things in the past often seem better.
I think:
1. Things are just so saturated now there is literally thousands of new bands out there so its like finding a needle in a haystack, to the find the good stuff you literally have to wade through mountains of trash.
2. Most new music you do listen too is on a digital platform, so if you do find a new band, you need to be disciplined and put the time in listening to them enough to really know if it clicks, in the past you didn't have this issue because, you bought an album and that's all you had, so even if on the first few listens if you were like this isn't so good, you kept peservering as it was all you had and otherwise you had wasted your money, even with tapes recorded from friend you put in more time as you just didn't have access to so much new music.
3. I think a lot of us into older music have ears for an analogue sound, or certain periods where things were mixed or produced a certain way, for instance im much more likely to get into a band i never knew about from the 90s rather than new music and this is the only reason i can nail it down too.
4. I just think everything has been done before, no matter what band you listen to now, you naturally compare it to something else, i also find a lot of bands im like, yeah this sounds good, and then the vocals kick in and your like argggh his vocals are terrible if only they had a different vocalist.
But that said i use to hate John Garci's vocals of Kyuss and now Kyuss are one of my favourite bands, but i was kind of forced into giving then a real good listen as my flatmate flogged them.


Memories
Light the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were…
"It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era — the kind of peak that never comes again. The Gold Coast in the middle nineties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run... but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant...
There was madness in any direction, at any hour. You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning...
And that, I think, was the handle — that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply PREVAIL. There was no point in fighting — on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave...
So now, less than twenty five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Dandenong and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high water mark — that place where the wave finally broke, and rolled back."
HST or VID...whatever


Supafreak wrote:I haven’t heard jack johnson or bob marley since the pandemic started , it’s because I haven’t been to Bali in that time .
Ha ha Yeah its like the soundtrack of Bali played everywhere, and Indonesians also love Gunners and Bon Jovi.


Bon Jovi, ID?! I wouldn't've seen that comin.


wax24 wrote:Bon Jovi, ID?! I wouldn't've seen that comin.
Mostly the girls they love em, Nirvana are still pretty big in Indo too.


Not sure if u guys are up with celebrity gossip but this weird,sounded kinda a bit fishy story just came out on face book about Bon Jovi's long lost sister,Anne.
She is just about to release an album and go on a concert tour.
The first song is going to be called 'Seafood Puttanesca' by Anne Jovi.


The Circle Jerks, first time in Oz. Touring with some other dudes this September.


Constance B Gibson wrote:The Circle Jerks, first time in Oz. Touring with some other dudes this September.
No fucken way! Shame it'll be full of middle aged Pennywise loving bro's, but still.


Re new / current music, That Surfbort clip posted a few weeks ago was a ripper. New to me anyway .


I hear ya, Hiccups.
Who caught OFF! back in 2011? One of the best gigs of (relatively) recent times.
Actually Surfbort and Amyl & the Sniffers was a good 'un too a few years back.
Indo got me thinking the other day about this after mentioning he was into rap and hip hop as a young fella.
- what was the first song you liked?
- what bands were you into up to the age of 18.
- did your parents hate it? What did they listen to?
- when you started going out did your musical tastes change?
- what do you listen to now? Changed tastes? Still a diehard? Do you revisit your teen years?
-