Great gigs are few and far between these days, but making the journey out to the Basement in Belconnen on Friday night was definitely an effort worth making!
It was billed as a ‘Misfits tribute show’ and let me tell you right here and now, it was that and a whole lot more!
I arrived at the Basement to find zombies, corpses, pirates, dead brides, skeletons, misfits face paint and anything else you can think of, plus a whole lot of people ready to have some fun. Oh yes! Halloween is here.
I didn’t catch the name of the first band because I arrived a little late (it was a long journey to get to Belconnen from where I live), but the band was a 3 piece band who were fairly entertaining as far as an opening act goes. Pretty much straight up punk rock which I guess is what you would expect for a Misfits tribute night. There were some good tunes in their set, but some of their songs started to sound the same after a while, but their between song banter was quite amusing. It was like watching Bevis and Butthead more off their faces then usual. Ha ha. Good stuff.
The 2nd band for the night was a group called The Bastards.
Also a good punk rock band with a big sound. A typical 4 piece band made up of bass, drums, guitar and singer with one hell of a good set of lungs on him. They played mostly originals which I personally thought were pretty darn good, and they also threw in a few covers for good measure, but these unfortunately were not done terribly well. Most of the crowd (which was really starting to build at this stage) were just happy to stand back and listen to the music, but judging from the guitarists comments throughout their set, he seemed a little upset that more people weren’t up at the front of stage.
Pretty solid set of very enjoyable tunes, but my only thought was that they seemed to play for far too long. I actually started to wonder due to the length of their set if these guys were in fact supposed to be the headlining act. After exhausting what must have been every song in their repertoire, they did eventually finish. Good stuff lads, but maybe a shorter set next time though.
3rd band for the night was a group called Mafia and I have to say these guys were pretty damn impressive! I was told that it was the band’s first gig and the guitarists first gig ever, but I’m not sure if I believe that because these boys were right on the money. They are a 4 piece band who play some really good straight up balls-out rock. With a singer who has a voice that reminded me of Bon Scott, some good solid drumming, throw in some pumping bass and then add a very talented guitarist with looks that had most of the ladies swooning and you have yourself the perfect ingredient for some top notch entertainment. To put it simply, Mafia kicked arse and I loved it! These guys rocked from start to finish and took next to no time before they had more than a few people up at the barrier having themselves a fat old time watching a really good rock show up close and personal. Well done lads, killer songs and a killer show. You were my pick of the night!
Last but not least was the headlining act, the Toxicmen doing the Misfits tribute show. In full Misfits make-up and plenty of Misfits fans, the Toxicmen took to the stage and provided us all with one hell of a show. I love the Misfits and I was not disappointed with how these guys covered the originals. Classic songs covered really well! Just what you want from a tribute show. Jerry would have been proud of you! All the favourites were there too and they even a threw in a few surprises that you wouldn’t have expected. Beautiful! Not only did they entertain us with the Misfits covers, they also played a few of their own songs too which were very well received by the crowd. One punter even grabbing the microphone a one stage to start a ‘Belco’ chant which was pretty funny, then finished with yelling “It’s not where your from, it’s where you’re at!”
My friend, I couldn’t have summed it up better myself. Tonight was all about having a good time and a good time was had by all!
Much respect to all the bands that played, especially the Toxicmen and Mafia! And to whoever organised the night, well done! You had a great mix of quality bands and the headlining act was outstanding! Keep putting on shows like these and I’ll keep coming back. Thankyou on a job well done!!
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