It is difficult to imagine, when
observing the masses of leather jackets, studs, and dirty beards at
the Annandale on Friday night, that these crowds were here to see a
band whose most popular song references Jesus in its title. A
self-confessed stoner rock band, Violent Soho were here to ignite an
explosive release for their new self-titled album, as well as
showcase all the live tricks and techniques picked up whilst touring
with Dinosaur Jr. in the USA. 

The first of the three supporting acts, Little Lovers - a three-piece band from
Brisbane - walked on stage with the sort of awkwardness you'd expect
from a band about to play a set of self-defined humourous music. It
didn't seem as though their main priority was to make the crowds
laugh, however. Rather, they expressed a desire to just charm us all with their quirky music and cuteness, which turned out to be a successful endeavour.
The soft vocals and mellow rhythms seemed to inspire a sort of soft
head bopping amongst the small groups of long haired men holding
schooners of Tooheys New.

Next up were Butcher Birds – three
sexy women, and a sexy man who looks like a woman. Butcher Birds
played a set of angry, loud music which was contrasted and harmonised
by the sweetness of the female vocals. Although the guitar riffs were
brilliant and catchy, leaving no room for anyone to stand around not
moving, the band refused to really dive into the physicality of
playing live music, preferring to just stand around strumming their
guitars and looking hot. Playing a genre which was much closer to
that of Violent Soho, the band at least succeeded in proving the
blatant banality of the audience's musical preferences, as they all
began to thrash about and deeply get into the music.

The final support for Violent Soho was
Scul Hazzards, who succeeded only in providing sufficient naptime for
the fans at Annandale before Soho would take the stage. Whilst the
band did seem to reel in a couple of fans for the show, they failed
to really capture the attention of those who'd not heard of them
before, such as myself. Noisy, ear-bashing guitars and screechy
vocals aren't really the kind of qualities you'd be looking for in
top-notch music.

Despite the display of musical
butchering prior, Violent Soho managed to play an electrifying set
which had hair swishing and necks cracking mid-headbang. The band
really got into the heavy tunes of the music they were playing, and
seemed determined to prove themselves to those skeptics who believe
radioplay has negatively impacted on the quality of their live shows.
“Jesus Stole My Girlfriend” had even a couple of bouncers
outside getting into it, and it's blindingly clear that Violent Soho
are able to entertain a wide variety of crowds. However, although the
band managed to successfully translate the sound of their recorded
songs live, and had fans leaving in a happy, satisfied trance; it is
without a doubt that they were upstaged by the supporting acts
(namely Little Devils and Butcher Birds).