Viagra Boys, Private Function @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 21/1/2026

Elite! Now this was the show to be at! Sweden’s favourite band might have been The Hives but after this show there’s a new favourite – the Viagra Boys. This hot prospect might have been a slow burn since emerging in 2018 and four albums later Viagr Aboys is the one that breaks them in a big way around the world.

It is of no surprise that the first show in Adelaide for the Viagra Boys at Hindley Street Music Hall was a sell out. It was loud, raucous and absolutely jam packed! Definitely not the show to be rocking up late as it was a case of good luck in finding a spot. Again, it’s only January but this one will going down in to post-punk folklore as one of those shows where punters will be saying “did you see Viagra Boys at Hindley Street Music Hall” because they will be playing far bigger venues next time round.

Bringing the chaos and mayhem early was Melbourne’s Private Function who are playing their second to last show ever in Adelaide (again at Froth & Fury next weekend). It didn’t take long to rev up this energetic crowd right from the outset with Music Sucks Fuck You then ploughing through Speed Bumps and Fuck Me Dead. Singer Chris Penney looked like he had enjoyed the tour… a lot, trying to avoid losing his voice completely. The pub rock spirit is definitely not lost either leaving nothing to spare going at it one hundred and ten percent.

There was a rant about beer being to expensive, cigarettes are too expensive campaigning for cheap beer and cigarettes leading the way to the anthemic Ready To Be Rich. Set staples I Just Met the Biggest Cunt in the World (It Is You) and I Wish Australia Had Its Guns Again proved popular but not as much as the sing-along vibes of Koala with Penney getting in amongst the crowd for a group hug of sorts. Private Function definitely fulfilled the brief of warming up this crowd who were now set for the main act.

It was shoulder to shoulder on the floor and there was a sense of excitement and anticipation of the Viagra Boys. That said the wait between sets seemed like an eternity and perhaps akin to the medication referred to in the band name waiting for that to kick in heightening the frustration a little. Stockholm’s finest emerged from side of stage with the trademark charisma and swagger soaking up the adulation of the loud and deafening cheers. It was all smoke, haze and strobe lights with singer Sebatian Murphy’s green elf/gnome hat standing out most notably emerging through the haze. Shirtless, sunglasses, ADIDAS track pants, tattooed… Murphy controlled proceedings in a punk rock kind of way.

Opening song Man Made Of Meat is an absolute winner and the crowd were right in to it from the get go. The crowd knew the words, they were singing, dancing, jumping, crowd surfing… basically it went off in a big way. The way these go about is fascinating and quite compelling, there’s nothing elaborate about the production, just a set list of eighteen kick arse that just worked so well. Slow Learner, Water Boy and Punk Rock Loser delivered to a “delightful array of punk rock losers all in one spot”. The crowd agreed and cheered. They do wear their influences on their sleeve but what they do play is uniquely Viagra Boys consolidating and affirming that our favourite Swedes are right here now.

Uno II and Therapy were absolute rippers uniting the crowd on Pyramid Of Health asking the crowd to place their hands in a shape of a pyramid and “harness the energy of the constellation above us.” Troglodyte was about “how much we hate fascist fucks, free Palestine”. There was a few twist and turns with Down In The Basement and ADD before throwing in Medicine For Horses. There were stories of getting fucked up at a house party “stealing all the medicine and money from a hot girl’s piggy bank”. Ramping things up on Research Chemicals and opening up the pit to get a wall of death going had the floor absolutely moving with a huge mosh of sweaty bodies.

The encore topped off what was already an incredible show with the anthemic “Return To Monke” and the uber popular The Bog Body bringing things to close on Worms. It was only fitting that the band celebrated this moment of triumph on stage with the fans as Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes’ Up Where We Belong played lapping up the crowd appreciation and Murphy saying they would definitely come back to Adelaide.

Live Review By Rob Lyon