Sydney in the 80s always had a tinge of glam to its rock and roll and The Hitmen were up there with the glammiest. This pop-tinged rock ‘n’ roll seemed at loggerheads with the brutal garage punk Niagara had churned out in the early 70s with bands like Dark Carnival and Destroy All Monsters but the two acts managed to hit it off and be as entertaining as ever.
Frontman Johnny Kannis introduced The Hitmen to the mixed audience with all the rock ‘n’ roll fervor of a seasoned rock god and despite tunes like ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Soldier’ being, well, not that good, he still puts the show in showmanship.After 45 minutes of good fun pop-rock, Detroit’s queen of punk Niagara took to the stage and the gig took a different turn. Her style is more aggressive. More angsty. She would tear your fucking head off and eat it for breakfast if you looked at her sideways and then go about her day looking as immaculately perfect as she did when she rolled out of bed.
So this promised “two hour show” on the posters really was one show within another. Niagara tore through rock ‘n’ roll standards like ‘1970’ and ‘TV Eye’ while Kannis played lighter classics like The Flamin’ Groovies’ ‘Shake Some Action’, Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘Godzilla’ and Elvis Presley’s ‘Suspicious Minds’ (all of which featured a hilariously bizarre interpretive dance with backing vocals by Died Pretty’s Ron Peno).
Niagara sings about the “whore” that “anyone can fuck” in the aptly titled ‘Anyone Can Fuck Her’ and at 53 years old she still sings it with the conviction of a surly twentysomething who grew up on the fringe of popular culture, while Kannis takes a more lighthearted approach to life in tracks like ‘Didn’t Tell The Man’ (a seedy tale if ever you’ve heard one) or the chuckle-inducing line “I don’t mind a t-bone steak/I don’t mind a big fat t-bone” in 'I Don't Mind'.
By all accounts the gig should have been a disastrous blend of a confused audience and a frustrated band, but it wasn’t. It was a great show and if you’re living on the east coast of Australia, you should get down to the one of the upcoming gigs. If you’re already going to a gig, pick up their live album ‘St. Valentine’s Day Massacre’ recorded live in Sydney in 2008 and if you already have that, then get your arse to one of Niagara’s art exhibitions and pick up a print.
The remaining concert dates are:
APRIL
9 - Step Inn, Brisbane, QLD
10 - Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay, NSW
11 - Surfers Paradise Beer Garden, Surfers Paradise, QLD
16 - Crest Hotel, Sylvania, NSW
17 - Gaelic Club, Sydney, NSW
If you want to check out some of Niagara’s artwork, head to Outre Gallery in Elizabeth St in Melbourne where her paintings will be until April 21. In Sydney, the exhibition opens on April 8 and will also run until April 21. For information on RSVPing to opening night, head to the Outre Gallery site.
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