LIVE: BUCKCHERRY with ROSE TATTOO – Perth, 24 Sep 2024

LIVE: BUCKCHERRY with ROSE TATTOO – Perth, 24 Sep 2024
The Rosemount Hotel, Tuesday, 24th September 2024
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

Rose Tattoo take a few songs to properly warm up on this first show of the tour, and first gig with fill-in guitarist Daniel Cox of The Poor – but once they get going they’re a force of nature. Angry Anderson – diminutive of stature, enormous of voice – is the only long-standing member left now, though Paul DeMarco back on the skins after some time in the big house, and Steve ‘Kingy’ King returning on bass after a few years out of the fold, ensure they’re plenty authentic. Together with man mountain Mick Arnold on slide guitar, they sound almost as dangerous as ever.

Assault & Battery – the title of their second album way back in 1981 – remains as much an aggravated aural assault of a song as ever, and it’s wonderful to hear deeper cut Tramp in all its ragged boogie glory. Butcher & Fast Eddie is a vicious street fight of a track and reminds this reviewer of the first time I saw them – forty-two years ago at the Old Melbourne Hotel in Perth the night after Angry was arrested for inciting a riot, a ridiculous charge which was later thrown out of court.

It’s a fast-paced burnout through the latter half of the set, One Of The Boys, Juice On The Loose and Remedy are all balls to the wall, Rock n’ Roll Outlaw and Bad Boy For Love irrepressible classics served smokin’ hot, and a meandering Nice Boys with a snippet of Blue Suede Shoes included closes out their set.

It seems unfortunately obligatory for Angry to have an ill-advised rant at most shows nowadays, skirting dangerously close at times to sexist and racist opinion. I won’t bother giving any airtime to his words tonight, merely note that he could have played at least one more classic song (We Can’t Be Beaten, Astra Wally, It’s Gonna Work Itself Out, for instance) instead of wasting the time.

For some, Rose Tatts should have been headlining, and there’s no denying the crowd thinned out after their set.

Buckcherry don’t seem to notice, frontman Josh Todd a barely contained ball of intensity. His do-rag bandana only remains on his head for one song, the long-sleeved black shirt on his back for two and a half, then he’s all energy and tattoos and crowd favourite after crowd favourite.

Guitarist Stevie D has been with Todd since the band returned from hiatus in 2005, bassist Kelly LeMieux for eleven or so years, with guitarist Billy Rowe and drummer Francis Ruiz newer recruits. Together they’ve made two albums and been around the world, and it shows in their slamming set.

If there’s a better song to open with than the cocaine fired Lit Up, I don’t know it and nor do the crowd, who are singing and bouncing and shaking their heads from the first note. Somebody Fucked With Me and Ridin’ are similarly popular, whilst newer track Let’s Get Wild is greeted like an old favourite. There’s an unexpected cover of Summer Of ’69 towards the end, which was perfectly serviceable, even though we don’t come to a Buckcherry show to hear Bryan Adams.

The big closer – a match for Lit Up if ever there was one – is, of course, Crazy Bitch, their speed-fuelled paene to wild sex with wild women. It’s likely to be their defining song for the rest of their lives, and never fails to get a crowd worked up in all the right ways. Extended tonight with detours into James Brown’s Sex Machine, Bad Girls, Irresistible Bitch and Proud Mary before bringing it home with a long ‘crazy bitch’ singalong.

No matter which band you felt deserved to be on first, this was a helluva double act which ensured a memorable night of sweaty rock n’ f’n roll for all in attendance.

SET LIST ROSE TATTOO:

Out Of This Place
Rock n’ Roll Is King
Man About Town
Black Eyed Bruiser
Assault & Battery
Tramp
Butcher & Fast Eddie
One Of The Boys
Juice On The Loose
Remedy
Rock n’ Roll Outlaw
Bad Boy For Love
Nice Boys (includes snippet of Blue Suede Shoes)

SET LIST BUCKCHERRY:

Lit Up
So Hott
Somebody Fucked With Me
Broken Glass
Ridin’
Hellbound
Porno Star
Say Fuck It
Pain
Let’s Get Wild
Gluttony
Sorry
Good Time
Tight Pants
Summer of ‘69
Crazy Bitch (includes snippets of Sex Machine, Bad Girls, Proud Mary)

 

Category: Live Reviews