Private Function, The Blamers, Year 6 Disco at the Oxford Art Factory, Sydney. 3 September, 2022
On September 3 in Sydney, punky lovers of the subversive and the absurd descended upon the Oxford Art Factory to witness conjurations of metallic mayhem from Private Function, The Blamers and Year6Disco.
Touring around the country to help promote their latest single, I’m This Far Away (From Being The Worst Person You’ve Ever Met), Private Function are in their sixth year of taking as much piss as they can out of any subject they choose to lampoon. Their songs are tongue in cheek while they’re staunchly committed to the grind as musicians. All the while, the five-piece keep proving themselves as effortlessly engaging performers of high-octane punk that’s tight and catchy.
Their show definitely displayed this, complemented with quirky humour, edgy antics, and a few spontaneous moments that saved their show from a potential disaster.
After the costumed Wollongong five piece Year6Disco kicked off proceedings with their unique blend of genre-bending synth-heavy goth rock, (alternatively known as ‘toddler rock’ or ‘warp stomp’), The Blamers followed, serving a dynamic display of bouncy cow-punk and hip-shaking garage grooves.
A highlight of The Blamers’ set was their cover of Wanda Jackson’s rockabilly classic Funnel of Love, sung by their enthralling tambourine-shaking front woman, whose rhythm was replicated with enough hypnotic stomp to be reminiscent of The Cramps. It was good to hear some twangy overdriven guitar solos peppered throughout the set, before their hook-filled closing number, Hook, Line & Sinker, their recent debut single.
After The Blamers’ dance floor cleared, and the cool kids wandered back in from their smoke breaks, the first we saw of Private Function was their formidably tall bassist Milla Holland wandering onstage to announce we should “give it like 20 seconds”.
With the room getting packed and anticipation peaking amongst cans of Young Henrys, a celebratory-yet-sardonic trap/hip hop beat was pumped through the PA to announce PF’s arrival. After frontman Chris Penney welcomed us to their show, before seasoning a few punters mouths by pouring some scotch onto them, the room exploded with flailing limbs, deafening overdrive, pounding drums and snarling vocals as we proceeded to go apeshit for the pit.
By rampaging through their new single, before blasting out Talking To Myself and Give War a Chance, Private Function demonstrated how they can entertain and intimidate in equal measure, with a live musical vibe that’s the equivalent of having a Red Bull buzz on a rollercoaster.
After these songs, it was nice to hear their following deep-cut One Headed Dog announced as a tribute to Roky Erikson, a Texan icon of psychedelia who gained fame as the leader of The 13th Floor Elevators.
It’s always a treat to see a singer move, crowd surf and animalise the stage in whatever way they can. Penney has obviously been making notes from the gospels of Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins. He was already balancing himself atop of our arms and heads by the second song, before bleeding from above his right eye in song ten, with an American flag wrapped around his shoulders and yellow Where’s Wally boxer shorts on his lower half. He later announced that any audience member to spot Wally on his jocks would receive a free record.
Considering all the orchestrated antics categorising Private Function’s set, it was interesting to see a genuinely impromptu problem occur after I Don’t Wanna Make Out With You, when Holland’s instrument broke halfway through the show.
With a crowd of hungry rockers in front of them, there was no time for lamentations or despair, and Penney went to work trying to find a right-handed bass guitar. Before leaving to find a bass, he announced that we would now experience the ‘art show segment’ of their set, seeing as we were at the Oxford Art Factory.
During his absence, Private Function’s new guitarists Anthony and Lauren started riffing on cover tunes to fill time, with their guilty bassist taking over vocal duties to perform a mashup of Legs, Higher Ground and Nirvana’s School (Nirvana).
“We’re sassy bitches”, remarked Holland after receiving a new right-handed bass to finish the show on. After charging through Albury/Wodonga, she left the bass behind again to wield a heavy silver chain that she started banging on the stage while singing Irresponsible Dog Owner (I’m An).
With Penney on bass and a new singer owning the stage, Private Function went into the charmingly named Biggest Cunt in the World. They then gave us a heavy treat by premiering their ‘metal’ song Seize And Destroy. In another typical non-sequitur, they followed this with an electric cover of Blue by Eiffel 65.
Amongst ensuing strobe lighting and the occasional techno interlude, Penney reclaimed the mic to shoot cap guns and throw party poppers into the audience, before two audience members managed to crowd surf too. At this point, the crowd was practically impenetrable for security guards, and Private Function had the room in the palm of their hand. Like a pioneer voyaging across a raging river, Penney balanced on a thong-shaped pool float, held aloft by the surging audience.
I Wish Australia Had Its Guns Again and Duct Tape stirred the crowd into a frenzy near the end of the show, before an unexpected cover of Coldplay’s Yellow provided a fleeting moment of rhythmic downtime in an ironic audience singalong. A final encore song was gifted to us after the end of Private Function’s main set, just because Penney grew up in Sydney and obviously still has a lot of love for the city and its inhabitants.
For a ballistic punk show that came with its own M-rated disclaimer for coarse language, violence, sexual references and drug use, Private Function delivered another public celebration of rock ’n’ roll hedonism, razor sharp musicality and rapid irreverence. While no figure or form of pop culture is safe from their parodies, it’s also easy to see why they’ve grown such a cult following.
IMAGE: Corin Shearston
