PHOTOS AND WORDS BY: MONIKA SMITH

One thing I like more than Sydney boys Fangz is the fact that Liam Cormier of the Cancer Bats (I have a CB tattoo; just to give you a little perspective) basically told them to form their band after a chance meeting after they were on tour in Europe and their (previous) band disintegrated.
Life can tend to royally crunch you up into a little paper ball, chew you up in a mouth hole, put you in a straw and spit you out into an entirely different pathway. Sometimes it’s a temporary shitstorm other times for these dudes, it was a blessing.

Let me ask you something dear reader.
1. Do you like freaking amazing punk rock?
2. Do you like to be entertained live by the above?
3. Do you like to breathe air to keep alive?
If you answered yes to at least one of these I highly recommend you get yourself to a Fangz show.

These fellas command the stage like they bought it without a mortgage; and their interaction with the crowd and infectious raunchiness can be felt all the way in the back of the venue.

Next up were also local lads Planet. I found myself a little mesmerized by these kids; at one point I got those kind of feels like I was a proud Mum but at the same time I was having a bit of a nostalgic familiarity wave wash over me from listening to similar bands in my youth that had a hint of Planet’s sound.
They have this connective vibe on stage with one another but this also seeps out into the audience and people who once were standing blank faced were smiling/swaying along to the band's sound.
Matty Took’s voice is the kind you want to listen to when you’re having a shitty day as it somehow just grounds you and makes you feel at ease.

I remember dancing around my room, singing and playing my bass to Gyroscope as a little teen. I didn’t want to be famous; I didn’t want to be in a band, I wanted everyone else to do the hard work, and just play concerts in my bedroom for no one to ever see (except when my Mum would walk in unexpectedly to praise my “talent”.) I had seen Gyroscope a few times growing up (with other bands such as my brother's friends After The Fall etc.), going to this show I wondered as an ageing lady myself, how they would hold up on stage. Whilst I struggle to get off the couch sometimes, the Gyroscope lads KILLED IT. I tend to see a lot of energy when I am shooting but this was second to none. Sometimes when you have to review and shoot a band you like; you sometimes get distracted and I took a lot less photos than I usually do (and a few were pretty garbage as I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot to change some settings) but that in itself says a lot about their performance on the night.