Viagra Boys hit the stage and strafe the rowdy audience with serious musical venom.
To call them Punk is too limiting. The attitude is there in spades, especially from the lead vocal frontman Sebastian Murphy.
All attitude and slightly shambolic swagger as he commands the visual focal point of the band. Heavily tattooed, a bit of a paunch, but energetic enough to be sweating profusely as it is very humid inside tonight, even with big fans placed near front of stage.
Murphy was raised in San Rafael California, with an American dad and Swedish mother. His upbringing sounded very health-oriented and politically liberal, which was the perfect storm for him to be a rebellious and troublesome teen.
Stealing from his parents to procure drugs, has was arrested at 15 years old for possession and abuse of whatever he could get his hands on. Alcohol, valium, assorted stimulants and intoxicants. He was in rehab by 17.
This sparked a move to Stockholm, Sweden, to live with his aunt and sobriety lasted a short time before Rock’n’roll also exerted its pull. A true story that he was recruited as a lead singer by other veteran Swedish musicians when spotted at a karaoke bar whilst demolishing a Mariah Carey song.
That’s all part of the Viagra Boys accepted origin story.
Coming together from other band projects around 2015, the current stage lineup consists of Linus Hillborg guitar, Elias Jungqvist keyboards, Henrik Benke Hocken bass, Tor Sjoden drums, Oskar Carls saxophone, flute and guitar.
They kick off with opening track from their latest album (viagr aboys) Man Made of Meat. Lyrics immediately signal their satirical intent. Clothes and food and drugs are for free/ If it was 1970/ I’d have a job at a factory.
Followed up with early song Slow Learner. The band lay out hard rhythmic drone music underpinned by leading bass patterns.
You N33d Me doubles down on the attitude. I can drink about fifteen beers/ that depends on the can. It sounded like he sang it as fifty beers from the stage.
Motorik relentless rhythms and mutant Surf drones take over, reminiscent of Vega and Rev Suicide on songs like Ain’t No Thief.
A brief interlude to recharge and wind up before charging off again with Pyramid of Health and Troglodyte.
Of course, Murphy takes time out to rant on about politics. Against authoritarianism naturally. The band want freedom for Gaza, Iran, Ukraine… the current cause celebres.
But really the music keeps everything in sharp focus. It may spring from Punk but there is large doses of Art Pop, New Wave and predominantly the relentless driving rhythmic drones.
A song like Cold Play is full of atonal screeches, buzzing electronic keyboard hornets with the saxophone weaving in and out.
At its best, this band can echo the sentiments of the early Cramps (especially with Brian Gregory) and the wild howling from the second Stooges album Funhouse.
Opening the show was Mini Skirt, a four- piece post Punk to Pub Rock band from Byron Bay across the Tasman. Jacob Boylan vocals, Cam Campbell guitar, Jesse Pumphrey bass, Jacob Pumphrey drums.
Effective at what they do which is again a lot of low register buzz riffing. Best described as straddling Power Pop and Garage Punk, with a little debt to the early Clash.
They reach a peak with their song Pressure, and finish on ranting about the USA. Of similar sentiment to the headliners tonight and get a warm send off from the growing audience.
Viagra Boys do show their diverse pedigree and depth with a few slower tempo numbers. Medicine For Horses starts with ponderous drums and guitar chimes as it heads off into psychedelic territory.
Then slam right back into Sports with a Garage Punk aesthetic.
Murphy makes a pertinent observation. There are a lot of old people here tonight. Many of them know the lyrics to the songs. In a curious way this could become a band to revitalise your old school Rock’n’roll.
They go out with some tasty and malevolent drone riffing and extend out on the vamp with Research Chemicals. There is an encore with Bog Body, but they have run out of steam by then.
But the Viagra Boys have well and truly ripped through the heads of the sell-out crowd by then.
Rev. Orange Peel
Photography by Ming Lyu
Viagra Boys
Mini Skirt
