To describe the year Violent Soho have had since the release of their sophomore album ‘Hungry Ghost’ as anything but revolutionary would be a crime. One of the most original and prevalent rock bands of modern Australian history, in a context in which using those words has become an absurdity, Violent Soho have embarked on tour upon tour supporting a record which can only be described as a modern classic.
It’s an album that almost everyone, from the ARIA overlords (‘Hungry Ghost’ picked up four ARIA nominations), to the blog snobs, has been able to appreciate in some form or another. On Violent Soho’s final shows of 2014, the No Sleep ‘Til Mansfield Tour, the band proved why they’re the illustrious sons of rock that Australia both wants, and desperately needs.
Furthermore, Violent Soho typically hit gold with their supports, with Straight Arrows and The Smith Street Band featuring as major supports on previous tours. For the NSTM shows, Soho have wrought the pain and fury of Melbourne band Ceres on the crowds of ‘Straya.
Whilst opening act Trophy Eyes brought stock-standard hardcore, buoyed by an energetic frontman, Ceres injected the personality of The Smith Street Band with the ferocity of overseas groups such as Touche Amore and Title Fight. It’s heart-on-the-sleeve punk, dripping in melodies and enough movement on stage to make Speedy Gonzalez dizzy.
But really, the folks are here for the Soho.
The room is crammed, thrashing bodies squirming to the front for a band that hasn’t even appeared on stage yet. The mere shift of lights from brazen yellow to red causes a frantic roar from the eager audience.
Sweat and gleaming eyes stay riveted to the stage, anticipation at critical levels. When the band do appear, exactly at 10:00pm (Violent Soho must be the most punctual stoners ever), and launch into ‘Dope Calypso’, the frenzy was reminiscent of watching folks scrambling to get out of the water when a shark alarm is called, and Violent Soho are the sanctity of the beach.
What’s extraordinary is how tight Violent Soho have become, shredding one song into the next, not even pausing for a breath.
However, it wasn’t because they felt to good for us, and were simply trying to rush through a set so they could go home. Instead, it appeared that Violent Soho were trying to cram as much music into their hour-set as possible, playing almost all of Hungry Ghost, from the rapturous anthem of ‘Eightfold’, to the steaming aggression of ‘In the Aisle’ and of course, the HELL FUCK YEAH of ‘Covered in Chrome’.
The only non album cuts were ‘Neighbor Neighbor’, a crowd-surf infested ‘Muscle Junkie’, and a double-onslaught encore of ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend’ and ‘Love Is A Heavy Word’.
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Violent Soho could be forgiven for taking their foot off the gas – three members are married, and two have children.
It’s been a whole year since material was released. And yet, without Violent Soho, the state of Australian rock music would be non-existent. There hasn’t been a band that has grabbed the collective conscience of Australia since The Vines, over 10 years ago.
But Violent Soho go beyond that, ensuring consistency and war cry anthems that scream “ROCK’S NOT DEAD!”. In a climate wherein electronic music and hip-hop reign supreme, chanting “HELL FUCK YEAH!” with an adoring crowd to one of the most thundering performances 2014 has seen, it’s safe to say that Violent Soho are as essential to the Australian history as Vegemite, cricket and a good ol’ fashioned dole bludge.
