LIVE REVIEW: THE DEAD KENNEDYS, Perth – 11 Oct 2014

Shane | 16 October 2014 | Reply

LIVE REVIEW: THE DEAD KENNEDYS, Perth – 11 Oct 2014
The Dead Kennedys with Chainsaw Hookers and Leeches
Capitol, Perth, Western Australia – Saturday 11 October 2014
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Stuart McKay

After a brutal set by Leeches, Chainsaw Hookers turned up to eleven for a frenetic set of favourites that crossed the great divide between GBH and Motorhead, along with some new numbers from their forthcoming second album. Blood rockers My Revenge, Party Man, Never Sleep Again and G G Allin cover I Kill Everything I Fuck all get the ever-swelling crowd involved in their abrasive intensity, and stand in guitarist Horse from The Bob Gordons proves unisonant with the band and music, dreads flailing madly all the while.

Whenever an iconic band announces a tour without a pivotal member, we worry, but The Dead Kennedys proved more than able to live up to their reputation with Ron ‘Skip’ Greer on vocals in place of the legendary Jello Biafra.

Some may have boycotted the event without Biafra being present, but Greer fills those mighty big (though slightly ill-fitting) shoes admirably, even though he evinces many echoes of his forerunner, both vocally and in his mannerisms. Given that Biafra’s uniqueness is so integral to the material that’s hardly surprising.

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Greer rails against Tony Abbot, ‘the buffoon’ punks in the moshpit, the venue shutting down early for a disco, U2 and more, but let’s face it: the posers who showed so little respect for the band and their message – even talking loudly over drummer D H Peligro’s short speech anti-racism – are too bloody stupid to even realise that THEY are the subject of ire of many of the band’s songs!

The Dead Kennedys, with their mixture of surf guitar, political message, satire and punk attitude, mean something, and are as relevant now as they were in their heyday, and fierce renditions of Winnebago Warrior, Police Truck, Let’s Lynch The Landlord, Too Drunk To Fuck and Nazi Punks Fuck Off all drive the message home with vigour.

Two encores encapsulating Bleed For Me, Viva Las Vegas, Holiday In Cambodia, Chemical Warfare and an extremely sarcastic Sweet Home Alabama are the icing on the cake, shutting the gig down after 68 intense and thoroughly enjoyable minutes.

Set List:
Forward To Death
Winnebago Warrior
Police Truck
Buzzbomb
Let’s Lynch The Landlord
Jock-O-Rama
Kill The Poor
MP3 Get Off The Web
Too Drunk To Fuck
Moon Over Marin
Nazi Punks Fuck Off
California Uber Alles

Bleed For Me
Viva Las Vegas
Holiday In Cambodia

Chemical Warfare
Sweet Home Alabama