Regurgitator at The East Brunswick Club, Sunday July 4.

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The afternoon before I was to see Regurgitator take to the stage at The East Brunswick Club, I was taken aback by the lack of PGS, or Pre-Gig-Stress. Normally the daylight hours before the evening’s show are taken up with hours of visualising myself squeezing through to the front, predicting setlists and generally getting over excited. This will normally be followed by a brief period of utter grief when I convince myself that no show could ever live up to the one that had just taken place in my mind. They wouldn’t play my favourite songs, I’d be stuck down the back, I’d spill the beer I had just bought to replace the one I dropped previously, and then, during the encore, someone would probably kick me in the shin and steal my friends bag that had been meticulously placed on the front of the stage for me to “keep it safe”.

However, in the lead to the first ‘Gurge show for me for some time, I was somewhat serene. In fact, I’m told that a yoga instructor secretly videotaped me in my tranquil state to play as inspiration for her Monday night class.

Anyway.

Walking to the wonderful East Brunswick Club on this crisp Sunday evening, I was realised that this gig was akin to catching up with an old friend, and I was hoping like hell that friend hadn’t moved on and forgotten about me.

We arrived in time to catch the intriguing Ouch My Face. Sometimes punk, sometimes metal, always a lot of fun to watch, Ouch My Face did their best to tear apart the East Brunny’s stage before the ‘Gurge had a chance. Vocalist Celeste Potter is an engaging performer, and while I’m not sure they were a great fit for the night, their roaring sounds are worth checking out live.

Of course, the free space created in the front rows by Potter’s screams was quickly filled with eager punters. By the time Regurgitator hit the stage, the band room looked like it had earned its sold out status. Quan, Ben and Pete walked out to a warm, welcoming ovation and ripped straight into crowd fave Blood And Spunk. The trio were on top on their game from the start, and while the crowd took a while to get into their groove, the ‘Gurge set about ripping through a greatest hits setlist that included I Will Lick Your Arsehole, Blubber Boy, and Pretty Girls Swear.

The punters were being given a treat and by the time the boys launched into My Friend Robot there was hardly a soul that wasn’t shaking. The set up of guitar, bass and drums was perfect for this show, and a rockier version of Polyester Girl was a highlight.

It was hit after hit as the band worked their way through the entire back catalogue, from 94’s Hamburger through to 07’s Love and Paranoia. There were also a couple of new tunes in Disaster and Miranda July, both fast paced rock n roll numbers which may signal a return to the bands roots.

After rocking through the second half of the set, which included more ‘favourites’ like The Drop, Black Bugs (complete with a few bars of Sweet Child Of Mine) and Everyday Formula, the band didn’t even get a chance to leave the stage before doing the desperately needed encore. The highlight of the show was the well received couple of minutes of instrumental metal followed by Song Formally As, which, as it tends to do, had the entire room jumping and sweating all over the place. As it all came to an end, with the somewhat ageless Kung Foo Sing still ringing in our ears, each person filed out happy with the knowledge that the ‘Gurge haven’t lost a bit of what makes them great. Their first show in Melbourne since moving to Melbourne was clearly a success for the band and crowd, and hopefully, now that we down south have custody of them, there is many more to come. This is one friendship that is standing the test of time.

  • http://duellsy.loudnlocal.com Chris Duell

    Spewin I didn’t go… sounds like it was unreal!