It was the 13th of September and I was feeling pretty shitty. I had nothing to look forward to. I was lonely, empty, depressed. Well, except for thing. I was invited to attend the 'Punk Goes Preschool' gig by my mates Shock Value. So on the day I got up and worked my way to the venue—this place called the Norman Park Bowls Club.
Upon arrival all I saw were a bunch of old people, some 30- to 40-year-olds playing bowls, and a bunch of young kids. I seriously questioned how a rock and roll event could be held here, let alone if many people are going to attend or if it's going to be one of those 'landmark' scene events that everyone goes to.
Either way, Nate Kenny of Shock Value soon found me and asked me to come sit with the band. We had a great chat. Soon it was time for the first band—Shock Value—to set up.
Thanks to Nate I was able to get into the gig and Shock Value's set was fucking awesome. The sound was really high quality considering it was a bowls club gig. I recorded their set on my DSLR camera. They had a very raw, raucous, rock and roll sound. Very direct, in your face, and not pretentious. Just pure raw power and energy that really slapped the shit out of ya.
Unfortunately, the crowd was pretty damn small and they didn't really rock that much. Many of them were friends of bands, random people who just happened to be there, and a bunch of young children brought there by their parents. It didn't end up appealing to its target audience of teenagers, which is a shame considering it was among the few all ages rock and roll gigs held in a very long time.
I was invited up to sing "I'm Stranded' by The Saints with them which was really cool and a great experience. It was awesome to sing a Brisbane classic and kinda have done something cool considering the serious social drought I was (and still am) in.
George Roberts—the singer of Shock Value—had a stage presence comparable to Iggy Pop, with him rolling around on the floor and having wailing vocals.
Highlights of their set included 'Head On'—a very high energy song, 'Under The Red Flag'—a song about the negatives of an authoritarian communist state, and a cover of 'Bad Boy For Love' by Rose Tattoo.
Considering the depressed stat, I was in, I didn't end up catching any of the other acts except for Pricey—who I looked up to having listened to the music he made with his former band The Chats.
Pricey had an awesome live band. His drummer banged on them like Ginger Baker except with less tom fills and more rock and roll, and his bassist was quite cool and delivered quite a nice punch.
He had a very punk rock, shedrock sound and performed a set with a punch reminiscent of The Chats punctuated with his solo ballads and songs. Highlights of his set included 'Identity Theft'—a song with an awesome bassline and one of my favourite songs by The Chats, and 'The Kids Need Guns'.
Overall it was a great gig though sorta sterile due to its low crowd energy and because of the mental state I was in.
From the archive. Gig review · October 2025, Issue BB9 · phone notes carried verbatim.