Review: Who the F#ck is BLACK RHENO?
Seriously, Who The Fuck Is BLACK RHENO?
Written by: Tom Wilson
Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan >> See FULL GALLERY
Saturday 25th May 2024
This is the story of how I fell in love with a dive bar. Located at the top of a precarious flight of concrete steps in the Fortitude Valley, Tomcat is a dive bar in the best possible way. Every surface is decorated with either spray paint murals, graffiti, bill posters or a combination of all three. The mirror in the men’s toilet is smashed and completely covered in band stickers, rendering it useless. The “barrier” in front of the stage is made out of wood, and the name “Tomcat” is lit up in red neon across the backdrop and covered in chicken wire. If you picture “punk club” in your mind’s eye, you’ll see the Tomcat, and I am officially a huge fan.
Pictured: Kieran from BLACK RHENO in the light of Tomcat neon sign
Opening my first ever Tomcat experience is ODIUS, but not as you might know them. Their drummer and bassist are indisposed, so two highly-capable replacements, Jamal Irlam and Ben Petzold, are filling in tonight, and they instantly set the mood with a thundering wall of sound. Expertly blending death and thrash, their enthusiasm is as infectious as their grooves, and the mood is well and truly set – the frontman even taking the opportunity during the set to wish his girlfriend a happy birthday. Smart man.
Pictured: ODIUS showing us what Tomcat is all about
Next we have SNAKE MOUNTAIN, and the irrepressible ball of energy that is frontman Nevile Pearce. After spending two years constantly running into him at gigs through his work with Everblack Podcast, this is the first time I’ve seen his other, much louder side, and I can’t help but be impressed. They sound massive tonight – brutal drumming, subterranean growls, and laser-sharp flourishes of tech death guitar wizardry. Their forthcoming EP Villainous I: Reverence is an absolute monster, and the tracks we hear tonight are a masterclass of brutality, stirring up chaos in the pit.
Pictured: Frontman Nevile Pearce bringing the energy for SNAKE MOUNTAIN
Up next is the only band on this bill I’ve seen before. One of several Australian bands at last year’s The World Is A Vampire Festival who absolutely outclassed the headliners (that’s just my opinion, but I’m right and you know it), PISTONFIST are as hard as hard rock gets, calling to mind bands like DREADNAUGHT. Become The Rage shifts from pummelling beatdown to full-throttle burnout music, and the less hardy quickly extract themselves from the pit. Black Rain is dedicated to the horrific male suicide rate in this country, and it’s as heavy as it is meaningful. Next time DOWN come to Australia, there’s only one band Phil Anselmo should be ringing to support.
Pictured: Churven McSweeney shredding for PISTONFIST
I know what you’re thinking. “Tom, this gig sounds great, but seriously, when are we going to talk about penises?” Well, you’re in luck, because up next is two-piece FORESTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, or as they’re more plainly known, F.U.C., and as Dan and Toddy strip off to Borat-style lime mankinis and have inflatable cocks thrown into the audience, you have a choice to make: laugh, or bang your head? Why not both? Blazing through their Everythink EP from last year, their performance is a maelstrom of thrash riffage, punk rock drumming, fart sounds and glorious immaturity. Beach balls are kicked around the room as two people wearing giant inflatable penis costumes dance onstage, and local legend Tabea ends up onstage in her own mankini and F.U.C.-branded nipple tape. Drummer Todd Hansen remarks that he has people from his day job coming to check out the show tonight. This will make for some interesting conversations around the water cooler on Monday.
Pictured: F.U.C. entertaining the crowd with their bizzare antics
Finally, it’s time for the main event, and NSW’s BLACK RHENO take the stage. With just a guitarist, drummer and vocalist, the racket that they make is impressive, and tireless frontman Ryan Miller has a massive smile on his face even as he fights a one-man war with an uncooperative mic stand. There is a volatility to their set tonight. You get the sense that anything can happen, and it often does, as was the case when I came back from the loo to see that they were covering LIAM LYNCH’s 2003 cult hit United States of Whatever – because of course they are – and later MASSIC frontman Simon Russell-White takes the stage for a raucous version of No Time For Numb Nuts. I guess that answers the question posed by the poster – that’s who the fuck BLACK RHENO are.
Pictured: Ryan Miller from BLACK RHENO
Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan
Click below to view the FULL GALLERY
