MxPx are one of those 1990s skate punk bands that have stood well against the test of time.
While others seemed to fade away in the early 2000s, MxPx, and their motley crew of support acts, reassured the Corner Hotel that while it has morphed, changed and plucked at different ideas and sounds, the genre isn’t quite done with the world.
Fresh from touring Asia, Melbourne’s Up And Atom slammed the stage first with speedy and aggressive tunes.
Their skill in recreating their short punchy tracks on stage helped to make it perfectly clear why the band is making leaps and bounds in the punk scene both in Australia and abroad.
Reckless Fools attacked the stage next and leapt right into their growly, yet crystal-clear vocals, backed by fast drums and guitar with fat, quirky bass riffs.
At first instance the band is so redolent of the Southern Californian skate bands of the 1990s there is wonder how ‘new’ their sound is, but their local and well-rounded edge gave them a subtle air of stinking punk freshness.
Melbourne’s the Playbook were the final act before the big guys. Their typical pop punk sound was played as effortlessly as it is supposed to be – fast tempos, chord changes, loud n fast guitars and drums. A proper pop punk fan’s wet dream.
The three support acts spawn from a breed of Aussie bands that are reminiscent of the genre’s glory days and if you grew up listening, it’s worth catching any of these bands; if not for the quality of their modern interpretation of punk – laced with memories of the past – but simply for the exciting nostalgia factor.
Even MxPx main-man, Mike Herrera agreed, the bands that played “were super tight, and [had] a lot of skate punk, which is perfect for MxPx.”
Once the band of the hour rolled on stage, oozing with professional energy – they kicked off the night with their classic track, ‘My Life Story’.
The audience instantly approved and suitably lost their proverbial shit – particularly in the rather large pit that promptly found its place the second the music started.
The string of tracks that followed were a mixed bag of older classics that everyone knows and loves, played fairly close to their originally recorded versions – short and sharp catchy tunes with upbeat tempos that move fast and deal with life’s shitty problems. All excelled.
However, it was abruptly realised midway through the set that someone backstage had jumped on the guitarist’s instrument (exactly how is a mystery) and the band were forced to stop. (It was later found out that five out of six strings needed to be replaced – not cool, whomever you are!)
Herrera quickly grabbed his acoustic guitar and graced the audience with requests from both MxPx and his solo project Tumble Down.
By the time Herrera had finished his last acoustic-save-the-night track, several punters in the audience had murmured to their mates about the superiority of Herrera’s vocal skills – a fair common judgement, his incredible voice was highlighted well by his softer solo instrument.
Later on, Herrera announced that he had to play a few songs from the new album, instead of the usual disgruntled attitude, many members rejoiced. As the frontman himself described, the album is “straightforward, tight, and modern – mixed with an old MxPx sound – lots of fans are happy.”
Aside from the guitar hiccup, there was one other awkward instrumental moment in the night, later to be recognised that Herrera’s bass had been unplugged for some time: “I don’t know how long… but it was – shows how important I am,” he joked.
The band finished with a reassembled version of ‘Responsibility’ – complete with an idiosyncratic bass solo from Herrera.
Halfway through the band’s encore track, ‘Chick Magnet’, they allowed Nathan Wilson – who drums for Hip Hop artist Dylan Joel (and, of course, massive MxPx fan) – to finish on the drums.
While the lead guitars were strong and played intricate solos throughout the song, it was in Wilson’s drums where the enthusiasm could be found beaming.
MxPx finished a second time, with ‘Punk Rawk Show’, and the crowd lost it – Herrera later mentioning that Melbourne was the “best audience on tour.” They weren’t so bad themselves.
