I was majorly excited about tonight because a) it has been ages since I’ve seen a band that has had to travel more than three hours by plane to get to Melbourne and b) BECAUSE IT IS THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE!!!

I am sure the capitalisation of answer b) shows the giant amount of love for this band, if not....I freakin’ love this band! But to be completely honest, I was slightly apprehensive. When it comes to bands coming to Australia, I become rather defensive about the whole thing, wishing with all my might that they come away with a good experience. And while I HATE to make a reference to the 2004 documentary ‘DiG’, that both screwed over and help make the BJM, after seeing that you definitely do not want to receive a pissed off Anton Newcombe foot-in-the-face. But, despite a few drunken losers in the line, no quotes of broken sitars and blood from ‘peoples faces’ was heard, a good sign that the night was going to be a positive one.

Starting off the night was Sydney’s The Lovetones, a rock and roll band rather reminiscent of that they were supporting. Well into their thirties, these guys were definite pros at writing rock songs, 70’s guitar riffs laced with a psychedelic intelligence, and as part of the Committee to Keep Music Evil, they have some great minds on their side. To be completely honest I feel awkward talking about this band, as they have been around for 6 years, with three records already under their belt. Creem and Rolling Stone Magazines have supposably been all over them for years and yet I only found out about them due to this support slot, an introduction I am truly grateful for nonetheless, but something I feel should have happened, not only to me but a majority of the BJM crowd, a very long time ago. Though everyone enjoyed their strong set, by the end people were impatient to see who is was they had come for!

The Brian Jonestown Massacre strolled on, they seemed tired and annoyed, Anton practically ignoring the crowd, Joel swigging on a Tooheys Extra Dry. When in Rome, hey? They’re set started with a mix of guitars, keyboard and tambourine, with three songs compete before Anton spoke a word. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know we were allowed to smoke up here!” There seemed to be a slight sigh of relief from the crowd as Anton showed a jovial side. In between songs, the band was hounded with requests for ‘Servo’, something that appeared to annoy Joel, several times telling the crowd to calm down, while a clearly uninhibited Frankie ‘Teardrop’ Emerson joined in with the shout outs. Anton shared his joy of TISM, stating that the b-side of the single ‘I’m On The Drug That Killed River Phoenix’ should have been ‘And Your Brother’s Got A Heir lip’. Though personal favourite random outburst for the night came from Frankie, as Anton gave shout outs to the other band the members were involved in. “I hate Spindrift, fuck Spindrift’, Frankie drawled with a smirk, the band he happens to play keys in, and only claiming to love Joel’s band The Dilettantes after he was handed a beer. But, with amusing drunken banted aside, their set was like nothing I had seen before. Armed with cleaver rock and roll songs, the BJM played for just over two hours, with a blistering, emotion-driven ‘Nevertheless’ ,for ‘Anemone’ joining Anton on stage for vocal duties was Aimee Nash from The Black Ryder, and of course ‘Servo’ lived up to and surpassed everyone’s expectations.

I have been waiting to see this band for ages and ages, and to finally get the chance to see not only one of my favourite bands, but one of the only bands whose music is genuinely rock and roll like it should be, was one of the most mind-blowing experiences ever. This is a band that I never thought I would have the opportunity to see, and now I have I cannot wait till next time.