Frenzal Rhomb, The Meanies @ The Gov, Adelaide 20/5/2023
Frenzal Rhomb brought the mayhem and hi-jinx to The Gov with The Cup Of Pestilence tour descending on Adelaide. Second show in on the tour the band played a ripper and if it wasn’t sold out it would have been very close. Even front man Jay Whalley labelled the occasion as an ‘unexpected triumph in the Kingdom’.
The Meanies! Holy smokes! These guys can seriously play and it was worth seeing The Meanies for the asking price alone. Having commemorated their thirtieth anniversary they have been touted as ‘Australia’s favourite treasures’ and perhaps worthy of having a statute mounted in their honour. Their set was turbo charged making the most of every minute of their set kicking off with You Know The Drill and There’s A Gap. There was barely a second between songs before they started ripping in to the next one. Great to hear a healthy serving of tunes from their most recent album Desperate Measures (2020) with the likes of Old Car to Shangri-La, All the Bought Men, Sousa and Cruel to be Canned getting the nod. Front man Link Meanie (Lindsay McLennan) had plenty of moves to rival most and also added some comments to the simmering tour rivalry with Frenzal Rhomb. Plenty of great tunes to finish the rest of their set with 10% Weird, Ton of Bricks and Keep a Balance.
The walk on music When Will I Be Loved (Linda Ronstadt) become an impromptu jam for Frenzal Rhomb before they rocked their way through opener Where Drug Dealers Take Their Kids. Whalley said everything from here ‘is the cherry on top’. Where Drug Dealers Take Their Kids, Gone to the Dogs and Bird Attack followed in quick succession. Frenzal Rhomb gigs definitely do attract all sorts and some who thought it was ok to continually stage dive and security who thought it was ok to barge their way on stage to sort out these stage invaders thinking that they were the entertainment. The Doctor described these ‘people’ like the weird uncle you see once a year.
Russell Crowe’s Band went off with Whalley fuelling this tour rivalry further playing a teaser of The Meanies 10% Weird and it will be interesting to see how this winds up by the end of the tour. Mr Charisma, The Wreckage and Bucket Bong all packed plenty of punch. The Doctor modelled his yacht rock get up ‘who was about to vote liberal on a Friday afternoon’. School Reunion and Genius went down a treat as did the on stage even with Dal asking to hear less of The Doctor’s ‘shit stories’ in his fold back. New tunes Dog Tranquiliser and Horse Meat were solid with the new album inspired by the people who live near Jay Whalley with a song for just about everyone in the neighbourhood. Set staples Ship Of Beers and You Are Not My Friend were awesome with another segue in to When Will I Be Loved was a nice touch. The show came to a close with the song that started it all with Punch In The Face and whilst the crowd chanted for one more that was it and the mighty Frenzal Rhomb gave it everything and leaving the crowd wanting more. Maybe they should move to Adelaide as they discussed in their set! Great show, be sure to catch Frenzal Rhomb on this tour.
Live Review By Rob Lyon