The Bennies

Day 2.

Less sun and yet somehow more heat. Why does thou smite us, oh Lord? Oh yeah, that's right, we're here to worship lords of the metal underworld.

The second day of Melbourne Soundwave boasted just as brutal a line-up as Day 1, featuring some of the biggest acts of the last 30 years in heavy and hard rock. Not to mention some local legends ready to get the party started.


The Bennies

You'd have to be an absolute fuckwit not to love The Bennies. The hyper party rockers have only one goal when they hit the stage, and that is for everyone to have the raddest time of their lives. 'Heavy Disco,' 'Hold On', 'Knights Forever', 'Mushroom Tea', the list of bangers the Melbourne ska-punks have amassed in their relatively short career is already formidable. And considering their penchant for celebrating 4:20pm on a regular basis, they bring insane levels of energy to everything they touch. We look forward to watching them on a main stage soon.

Special Soundwave Moment #4 - The sweet, sweet relief of the multi-coloured slushee machine. That stand must have made at least a million bucks over the weekend.

Antemasque

Antemasque visionaries Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez bring with them the ghosts of their previous bands At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta wherever they go, but no matter what guise they take, their live show is always an adventure worth taking. Unlike anything else at Soundwave this year, Antemasque's sprawling mix of prog and punk didn't attract the most punters but those who did show up were well rewarded. As If Cedric's insane vocals didn't transport the audience to whole different place, Omar's 20-minute guitar solos sure did. An ideal fit for the late afternoon slot.

Steel Panther

We've reached the point where we can say that Steel Panther are bona fide superstars in Australia. The LA heavy metal clowns drew a crowd that not only rivaled that of any of the headliners, but was also deeply versed in the crude lyrics of their spandex clad heroes. Oh and of course there were the boobs. So many boobs. But during all the boobs and the hilarious banter, somehow the band fired through 12 songs of ridiculous cock rock, leaving smiles smeared across the faces of thousands.

Incubus

Vibrant as ever, the ageless California ocean rockers delivered a somewhat tender set for an afternoon at Soundwave, leaning on some of their less heavy material. But after a day and a half of having atom bombs dropped on us, it was somewhat of a relief. Don't get us wrong, the big hitters were there - 'Pardon Me' still erupts with the same power it did in 1999, 'Nice To Know You' still punches you in the diaphragm when it reaches the chorus, and big closer 'A Crow Left Of The Murder' brought home the set.

Soundwave Special Moment #4 - Meeting a couple of girls that had come all the way from Perth just to see Faith No More. That's a lot of travel and commitment to get called a fuckhead by Mike Patton.

Soundgarden

The grunge giants thundered through their set with the grace and ease that only rock legends of their calibre could. No antics or overt showmanship, just heavy, heavy rock music played just like it should be. Again, another ageless vampire in frontman and 50-year-old Chris Cornell not looking a day over 30, his voice as ageless as his perfect, unholy skin, searing through barnstorming versions of 'Spoonman', 'Rusty Cage', 'Outshined' and fan favourite 'Black Hole Sun'. It all culminated in yet another Badmotorfinger number, 'Slaves & Bulldozers', before Cornell, probably as sick of the heat as we were, literally tore the strings from his guitar, saluted the crowd, and headed for the comfort of air-conditioning and a backstage rider.

Special Soundwave Moment #6 - The dude behind us that saw Faith No More's white curtain backdrop and flowers on stage and asked his mate, "Who's on now? Roxette?"

Faith No More

Faith No More don't know how to disappoint. It's simply not in their repertoire. What they do know how to do is put together a kick-ass set list and rock the hell out of a festival. Retaining the voracity they displayed at Soundwave 2010, Mike Patton and co. gave fans just about everything they could hope for. Surrounded by floral arragements and dressed in medical scrubs, FNM came out blasting 'Motherfucker' then proceeded to burn through classics including 'From Out Of Nowhere', 'Epic', 'Evidence' and 'Midlife Crisis'. Patton's tongue-in-cheek banter was as on-point as ever, with a nod to earlier performers Steel Panther reminding us all who the real rock god is. And sorry Soundgraden, 'Easy' replaced 'Black Hole Sun' as THE sing-along moment of the festival. We would've ventured off to see a bit of Lamb of God, New Found Glory and The Devil Wears Prada headlining their stages, but we couldn't pull ourselves away from the well-oiled machine that is Faith No More (first world problems). Closing the set and the festival with a three-song encore featuring new track 'Matador', then their brilliant take on the Bee Gees' 'I Started A Joke' and finally 'As The World Turns' from their masterpiece Angel Dust, Faith No More sent us off into the night not even mad about the post-Soundwave traffic we'd have to battle. - V Music

Melbourne’s The Bennies blew back through town on Thursday night on their Party Whirlwind tour, which is (in addition to being the title of a track on their most recent release Heavy Disco) an apt description of the effect one of their gigs has on a room.

For my money, The Bennies are pretty much a guaranteed good time, which helps explain why many of the shows on this tour have completely sold out. They kicked off with Bags of Weed, which described the contents of more than a few punters’ pockets – the security guard had to be extra vigilant during that song and the similarly themed Sensi-Mi. But this weed was more Hydra than hydroponic – for every joint snuffed out, seven more sprang up to take its place.

Similar odes to indulgence Mushroom Tea and the hyperactive Party Smashers left no doubt about why the four band members are always grinning, but their enthusiasm was contagious. Fat basslines, ska guitar, heavily echoed vocals and crazy korg synth propelled their set, which also included favourites such as My Bike and Anywhere You Wanna Go.

They finished up with massive singalong versions of Knights Forever and the insistent, uplifting Highrider, a one-two combo that led to stage invasions and crowd-surfing, including by lead singer Anty. In the aftermath of this sensational climax, the boys regrouped and decided on an encore of Hold On, ending the night on a mellower reggae note.

As always, immense fun. - Owen Heitmann, Rip It Up

“Psychedelicpartyreggaeskadoommetalpunkrock from hell!” screams the written introduction to Melbourne four-piece, the Bennies; a band that is impossible to pigeon-hole or be defined by one genre, with their sound falling into a variety of spaces, like a kid with his fingers in all the respective pies. And it’s by no means a bad thing, as latest album ‘Rainbows In Space’ demonstrates.

The space oddity begins with the whirring, electronic glory of ‘Party Smashers‘ – a track that is as bold as it is brilliant. The striking comparison of synths and ska-infused rhythms are catchy as hell, and already have you jumping out of your seat from the get-go.

‘Anywhere You Want To Go’ draws on a feast of ska, punk and reggae vibes – pushing the boundaries of sound production and “the norm” to infinite new levels. ‘It Goes Without Saying‘ nominates itself early as an infectious party-starter, with each sing-a-long chorus of ‘gang vocals’ leaving you with dreams of hitting Oxford Street at 3am, belting out this tune in drunken comradery.

‘Lets Get Stoned’ and ‘Knights Forever’ sing out tales of youth – those nights when you’d stay out til the sun came up – whilst ‘License To Chill’ brings the electronic party to an abrupt halt, with some psychedelic riffs that settle the mood briefly. That is, of course, all before the high-octane ‘High Rider’ kicks in, and leaves no sound or style untouched. Once again, it’s that punch-your-fist-in-the-air chorus that grabs your attention and holds it – warranting second, third, forth track rotations on your stereo.

‘Frankston Girls‘ is perhaps the heaviest the album gets – with the chaotic clashes of ska, colliding with some incredibly catatonic screaming – before ‘Westgate Wednesday‘ becomes a polar opposite, providing a feel good, reggae bounce with its step towards the finale.

‘Sky High‘ has the honor of closing out the dramatic spectrum of noise, combining the core elements of the bands sound to lull us into a warm, satisfying state of bliss.

Overall, Rainbows In Space is an astounding release. The Bennies controlled chaos of sound and synths is ridiculously well-executed, with the pomp-prowess of 80s electronica daring to dance with the unabashed ferocity of punk. Their sound is unique, undefined by one specific sound or style; a rebellion against conventional sound production. And that, my friends, is worth celebrating.

[9/10] - Meghan Player, Push To Fire