LIVE: DEAD KENNEDYS with LAST QUOKKA – Perth, 24 Sep 2025

Shane | 25 September 2025 | Reply

LIVE: DEAD KENNEDYS with LAST QUOKKA – Perth, 24 Sep 2025
The Astor Theatre, Perth, Western Australia
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Luke Baker

If there’s a local band who embody the spirit of headliners Dead Kennedys more than Last Quokka, I’m certainly not aware of them. Their songs are full of fiery and feisty invective, social commentary, political derision and humour; their performance is energetic, full of youthful vigour and passion.

Drummer Carlota Rivera is a fireball, beaming from ear to ear, obviously enjoying pounding the farkin’ hell out of the rhythm while Bondi on bass and Dion & Justin on guitars are likewise energised and electrified. Charismatic and bogan-pub-activist-articulate frontman Trent raises vocal hell, not pulling a single punch through protest songs like Save Our Pubs, Cost Of Living, Gina Rupert, Fuck Nazis (an old track resurrected in honour of DK’s classic Nazi Punks Fuck Off) and Eat The Rich.

It’s a riveting performance from a band on fire, and enough for DK bassist Klaus Flouride to praise the locals effusively during their encore.

[Show picture list]

Even before the support band started the merch line snaked almost the entire way through the venue – at least half the people in the house were shopping for t-shirts, so expect to see that DK logo around town a lot in the coming months.

Jello Biafra left a long time ago, and drummer DH Peligro sadly passed in 2022, but as long as we have Flouride and guitarist East Bay Ray we’ll have the Dead Kennedys (not that Biafra’s a fan, but that’s a story for another day) and their political, surf guitar-injected US punk onslaught. Fuelling the engine room is new boy Steve Wilson, who makes a heartfelt shout out to Peligro during the show, and singer Ron ‘Skip’ Greer.

Greer is the only one of the quartet animated onstage, barely stopping to take a breath throughout the show as he channels the spirit of Biafra, whilst the OG members are pretty static – certainly not displaying the vigour of their support act tonight. What they do have, though, is a back catalogue that anyone would be proud to call their own.

One thing missing, however, is new material. Apart from a couple of lyric changes (MTV Get Off The Air is retooled as MP3 Get Off The Web, for instance), there’s nothing more recent than Biafra’s tenure in the 1980’s.

[Show picture list]

Greer suggests we all need some Friendship, Understanding, Caring and Kindness – especially taking the first letters of each word – while the crowd mosh, whoop, shout, and even crowd surf (policed by the usual heavy-handed security) ensuring a sweaty time is had by all.

As short as the show is – a 52-minute main set, 72 minutes in total – it is undeniably intense and there are heaps of songs, they’re mostly just short songs. Police Truck, Let’s Lynch The Landlord and Kill The Poor set the scene, while Too Drunk To Fuck, Nazi Punks Fuck Off and California Uber Alles get the crowd hot under the collar to close out the main set. Encore tracks Bleed For Me (with a little bit of Swifty’s Shake It Off), Viva Las Vegas and Holiday In Cambodia are undeniably frenetic, turning front of stage into a melee of flailing limbs and sweat before a second encore of Chemical Warfare, including the refrain from Sweet Home Alabama for some reason which went over my head.

Once it’s all over Greer stays on stage after his bandmates have left, screwing setlists into balls and throwing them to the crowd, even making a few paper planes from them and launching them from the stage. It’s a nice “man of the people” touch from a bloke who’s just given his all to entertain these people