LIVE: HARD-ONS with The Decline and Last Quokka – Perth, 8 Nov 2024

Shane | 12 November 2024 | Reply

LIVE: HARD-ONS with The Decline and Last Quokka – Perth, 8 Nov 2024
The Indi Bar, Scarborough – Perth, Western Australia
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

Last Quokka delivered a suitably raucous opening set which climaxed with latest single On The Couch and Eat The Rich – with it’s chanted chorus, “what school did you go to” – appropriately setting the scene for a night of frenetic and decidedly non-mainstream punk attitude.

The Decline were next, at the best when blazing their own trail rather than mimicking the US pop punk heroes. Kenneth – about a cat, of course – and a succession of ultra short, fast, loud gut punches such as Bahia De Verano (so short it was played twice in under a minute) and The Most Expensive Chips I’ve Ever Had. Their set featured Tom Manton and Josh Barker of Desert Dogs standing in for absent members Ray and Harry, and was rehearsal-space casual, the band often joking amongst themselves rather than attempting to be professional or overtly try to win over new fans. Great for ardent followers, of which there seemed to be a few – not so great for the rest of us, left scratching our heads wondering what their band was even called for most of their set.

There’s no such confusion when Hard-Ons take the tiny stage. An Aussie punk institution – now fronted by You Am I mainman Tim Rogers – they are a force of nature, as they have been for forty years.

Guitarist Blackie remains a taut riff machine, all muscle and flailing hair; Ray Ahn a bass playing dynamo throwing shapes tirelessly, his guitar hanging almost at his knees; while Murray Ruse drives his locomotive drums relentlessly forwards.

There appears to have been some drama we missed, with the lean and sinewy serpentine Rogers mentioning more than once that one of the support bands made claims of stinginess from the headliners, and “that’s not who we are.” Hopefully that was a misunderstanding easily sorted out.

The set list is dominated by tracks from their most recent three studio albums with Rogers, with a sprinkling of deeper cuts for long time fans – which includes Rogers, as he declares proudly at any given opportunity. At one point he disappears from the stage to simply stand in the audience and be an unabashed fan, watching the band.

It’s a masterwork of heavy, crushing music capped off with sweet gravel candy vocals and the most irresistible melodies set to bludgeoning punk rock tunes.

Highlights are… well… every song, really. Fucked Up Party and Hold Tight are recent additions to what Rogers calls “the Hard-Ons lyric booklet,” Ride To The Station’s Yellow Submarine-like ad libs make it a syrupy delight, Ache To Touch You and Raining challenge the sound guy to control the decibels as “the band’s just so loud!”

Rogers introduces Oh, You’re Crushed as “my favourite Hard-Ons song of all time,” adding “you’ll go home tonight and your partner will be thinking of one of us. That’s not your fault – we just try harder than you.”

The main set concludes with fan fave She’s A Dish, and an encore of classics Sit Beside You, Just Being With You and the monolithic Suck n’ Swallow – including some nods to Let There Be Rock – wrap up a tremendous gig.

Apartment for Two
Buzz Buzz Buzz
Fucked Up Party
Hold Tight
Sunny
Happy Accidents
What Would Stiv Bators Do
Operation Lightning
Ride To The Station
Frequencies
Humiliated/Humiliator
Ache to Touch You
Back Pack Sweat
Finders Fee
Raining
Oh, You’re Crushed?!
Chopping Block
She’s a Dish