Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, Dwarves, St. Judes @ The Gov, Adelaide 10/11/2024
“We’re available for Weddings” remarks Spike Slawson cheekily, and that is the exact vibe of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Jaunty matching outfits, glitter, a rowdy crowd draining the bar and non-stop bangers- but make them punk rock. Anyone who loves a good fast forced beat and riffy jingle would be familiar with this supergroup featuring some hefty punk royalty including CJ Ramone on Bass and Andrew McKeag from Presidents of the United States on guitar for this recent tour. For me, it was my first time seeing them despite flogging their CDs since high school, and they exceeded my expectations delivering a tight high energy set with all the theatrics including a stage crew dressed like Rappers picking random fights onstage with the musicians, which admittedly took me a while to realise was in fact part of the performance.
Local lads St Judes kicked off this school night of chaos, firing out a handful of some seriously well written original tracks such as Designated Driver Blues, while their adoring fans sang along front and centre, to cleverly brazen political anthem Snowy River. Their performance is pure punk energy and St Judes always deliver a good time for their shows.
Dwarves were a happy addition to the bill, coming all the way from California to offend unsuspecting ears that were likely just there for a good Barry Manalow cover. Front man Blag Dahlia proclaims they will accept drugs as payment and delivers wholesome hard and fast tracks such as Speed Demon and Let’s Just Get High F**k Sluts. The entire set is fire, keeping up a mad pace and getting the crowd charged up and dancing, (probably) not really listening to the ridiculous obscenities being sang directly at them, as Blag maintains weird eye contact occasionally with audience members. Getting serious for a moment, they close with “a song about the Environment” Unrepentant, the now fully engaged crowd waving their hands in synchronicity.
Everyone is well and truly juiced by the time Me First and the Gimme Gimmes came onstage and deliver a whopping twenty three track set with nothing but beloved classic pop and rock tunes that everyone knows the words to. Opening with Most People I Know on the electric ukulele, pub choir is in session and thus begins the antics. Spike’s comedy routines between tracks (“this next one is a cover”) along with his cool confidence, oozing charisma, booty shaking and seriously impressive vocal pitch, tick all the boxes for an entertainment legend that should probably take up residency in Vegas at some point before retirement. The band are already world class musicians in their own right; however they surrender their tough punk personas and play along with the theatrics of a cheese flavoured “working cover band” as middle aged fans in Hawaiian shirts open up a hectic mosh pit singing along to Don’t Cry for Me Argentina. I Will Survive evokes the crowd surfing, which although banned in this venue is impossible to prevent when we are talking Gloria Gaynor.
As expected, the encore is dramatic, they aren’t going to go out without one, but you bet your ass they will make us wait (just as well everyone needs some deep breaths and some water). Closing with crowd favourite Rocket Man and appropriately selected End of the Road I’m not sure I will ever get tired of elder punk rockers sing Boyz II Men so passionately.
Live Review By Bec Scheucher