w/SERIAL KILLER DINNER PARTY @ The Brightside – Thursday 9th February 2023

Words by: Tom Wilson @thetomwilsonexperiment - Sense Music Media | Monday 13th February 2023
(HED) PE Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan @kaotic_images
SKDP Photos by: Tam Schilling @tamcamimages

It’s humid as hell in The Brightside tonight, and by the time Queensland punks SERIAL KILLER DINNER PARTY reach their third song, bassist Leigh Robertson is wearing only shorts and a layer of sweat. Bristling with energy and as tight as a snare drum, SKDP are as subtle as a hand grenade, and they slowly bring the crowd forward over the course of an eight-song set, pausing only to deliver banter, shit-talk an uncooperative bass lead, and thank Silverback Touring for the booking. This is their first time supporting an international band, and they don’t waste the opportunity, even throwing in a cover of THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM’s 45. By the time they close with Falling Away, guitarist Josh Prosser sinking to one knee amid shrieks of feedback, the crowd has pooled at the front of The Brightside like drips of sweat forming a puddle, and the vibe is set.

SENSE occupies the traditional gig review position – dead centre, braced against one of the monitors – and (HED) PE emerge onstage, gyrating to Lowrider, before plunging into the off-kilter bounce of 2021’s R.T.R.. It’s to Jared’s credit that this, the latest incarnation of his band, doesn’t pretend like 2000’s Broke isn’t the album they are best known for. Brash, profane and brilliant, it was the hard-R alternative to LIMP BIZKIT that was once described as “nu metal’s MOTLEY CRUE”, and its success has kept frontman and sole original member Jared onstage doing what he loves for a long time. We get plenty of it tonight, and our first taste, Killing Time, is utterly volcanic – Jared’s signature raspy screams sounding enormous as he invites us to “Kiss that world goodbye.” A thrashing Waiting to Die cranks up the temperature in the pit several more degrees, and by the time it’s done, Gomes is literally standing in a puddle, which he has to drop a towel on – international fans watching from Jared’s phone on the speaker, filming the whole thing for Facebook.

The vibe is loose onstage tonight, like an extended jam session. Well-known (HED) PE tracks are warped, extended and evolved, and as we shift from punk to rap to reggae and back again, a Hammond melodica makes several appearances – Jared blowing into the mouthpiece and tinkering with melodies, occupying space previously filled by a DJ. Swan Dive is a huge singalong, Peer Pressure is a punk rock jackhammer, and the sensationally crude Crazy Legs is as filthy as it is amazing.

Whatever you do in life, try to enjoy yourself. It looks like the drummer for HED PE understands the assignment, because Jeremiah “Trauma” Stratton is absolutely on fire tonight – a cross between Animal from The Muppets and Youtube sensation Nandi Bushell, sticks twirling, arms flailing, tongue waving. Jared busts out the melodica again and leads us through a singalong of The Meadow, conducting with his eyes as we shout every verse back at him. Blackout is a storming neck workout, bassist Kurt Blankenship’s low end shaking the air. Guitarist Nathan Javier is killing it tonight, even if the sound robs us of some of his more intricate moments. Jared announces that he is his new favourite guitar player, and that it’s his birthday tonight, and that they have bought “cake for everybody.” A Woollies mudcake is brought out with sparklers, and the pit sings him happy birthday, before the melodica comes out again and teases the song we all know is coming. Bartender is part jam session, part mosh pit stomp, and we scream the chorus to the roof. There is no encore tonight, but there doesn’t need to be, because Renegade finishes things off in spectacular fashion – Stratton flicking his drumsticks into the sweating throng. Now, there’s nothing to do but wring our shirts out and head off into the night.