Wed:19-11-2008

- Live Review - Streetlight Manifesto

Punk Alive And Well At The Corner Hotel

 'I heart Ska' was the T-shirt slogan on one of Streetlight Manifesto's fans at the Corner Hotel in Richmond. It was a slogan that managed to transcend it's material boundaries and become a symbol for the whole night's entertainment. Despite being past its mid 1990's heyday, the music genre proved itself to be alive and well; as were old punk clobber of checkered pants, converse shoes and braces.

The night kicked off with Melbourne's own King City Seven, a seven-piece outfit who fused a dynamic horn section with steady drumming and enthusiastic vocals to rev up the crowd. Just like a good support band should, these guys provided a live act that was bursting with energy and anticipation. By the final song, appropriately titled 'Big Bang', the crowd had begun to fill the void left at the front of the stage. Trumpets were spinning, punks were skanking and singer, Chris Doughty, had earned himself an A in crowd interaction.

The next half-hour act was the singer from MU330, Dan Potthast, solo. The crowd didn't seem too eager as the curtains parted and the punk from St. Louis, Missouri leapt from the drum platform with an acoustic guitar. But, as is the case with most of Dan's shows, he quickly won them over with hilarious lyrics, banter and anecdotes. Not only did he have a quick retort for any hecklers, but he also shared the wisdom that was once given to him through Catholic education: young women become pregnant simply by walking outside when the streetlights come on. After parting with such treasured knowledge, he then gave up the stage to the final support band.

The Resignators, another local Melbourne band, graced the stage and the room was once again full with the warm sounds of a horn section blended with solid rock. They exploded into their first song, 'Kablamo', and set a fast pace for their entire set, but an intensity was missing which could only be filled by the headlining band.

Finally, Streetlight Manifesto appeared, launching into their first headline tour of Australia with 'Would You Be Impressed'. Tomas Kalnoky's punchy lyrics and accents from the horns took no time to get the crowd moving. The void had been filled and punks threw their bodies together as the band followed with 'We Will Fall Together'.

Through constant touring they've developed a reputation for fun and high-energy, live shows, and this was no exception. Fans climbed on stage and crowd-surfed as the seven-piece group from New Jersey ripped into songs from all three albums. They even threw in a cover of NOFX's 'Linoleum' for those 'true' punk rockers.

But their latest album, 'Somewhere In The Between' (released last year), was clearly dominant, gaining instant recognition from the crowd. Every song from this album sounded tight and clearly thought out - there was no dirty punk guitarist slurring his way through a tricky chorus, or a singer struggling to keep up with a fast tempo. With songs like these in their set list, Streetlight were more than able to show their talent and their experience.

After an hour of music with little conversation to speak of, other than a short thank you or a solo introduction, Streetlight finished with 'Here's To Life' from their 2003 album, 'Everything Goes Numb', before re-appearing for a quick encore of the title track from Somewhere 'In The Between'.

Oddly, they left the stage without excitement, in complete contrast to the rest of their set. After a few handshakes, they were gone, leaving their fans exhausted yet restless.

By Lizzie Dynon

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