Mad Sin in Oz

Psychobilly is, a relatively small and fragmented part of Australian Rock N' Roll culture (That's Culture with a C you Klown) There are pockets of fans in this Country that remember before the internet when it was mail orders and tapes from mates and not much else, playing them over and over til' the rubbers wear out, stoked if you got some vinyl somehow.

On the contrary, on any given weekend you can go and check out any number of Roots, Blues and Punk, Rockabilly gigs in this fair land and yes, be impressed, show off your new Shepler shirt and $400 levis, and.........hear the same formulaic and often, but not always, tired sound, just so you can say you went to a gig, and supported your 'scene' I'm not putting the music down, however but there's a difference between being a fan of a genre of music that moves your souls and courses through your veins and being a glam wanker and then looking down on Psychobilly as "fake" and "worthless" in no need of promotion and support (But we'll get back to that in a little while)

For 20+ fuckin' years, almost single handedly,in this country, Fireballs have carried the torch of insanity promoting REAL Psychotic music for REAL Psychotic people, driven by an unholy love for again, what is so lacking in this country PSYCHOBILLY!

I have always been in awe (And sometimes depressed by not being able to go check out a show, once a month, or even 3 times a year would be nice) of not just the music that has come from Europe, but also the calibre of the bands playing it. The fact we never get to see any of these acts has been at times, literally painful.

When Mad Sin were supposed to come a couple of years ago, I was in disbelief and when that fell through, shattered to the bone. So when we knew they were actually going to make it this time, it caused a mix of feelings of more disbelief and a mixture of anxiety and wonder, brought about by the knowledge that they would be largely unknown in this country, which in turn caused anger and frustration but fuck it, I'D BE SEEING THE SIN!

From all reports of the shows leading up to Sunday, they were small but Mad Sin rocked the fucking house and from a mate Shane's personal view of the Sydney show, "Blew the fucking tiles off the roof!!"

I briefly caught Matt at Sunday's show for about 2 minutes and introduced myself and asked about his experience of previous shows.
he told me that Brisbane was dead, the Gold Coast had few people but those there lost it and had a great fucking time and Sydney was cool. I do know this show was pretty packed at the Annandale. Sydney people know how to have a good time which is why I like to go catch bands there whenever I can...On ya ya bastards. Rock on and see ya next week! Nice to talk if only briefly, Matt!

Doing a show on a Sunday night in a town this size is bound to be smaller factoring in people at home, having spent the cash on Friday and Saturday nights, coupled with the lack of knowledge around Psychobilly in general, which following on from earlier, pisses me off. When there is such a big Rock and Roll/Rockabilly scene, how one could not come and support one of the most "rocked the fuck out" European Psychobilly bands of all time. (Fuck you too, Fenech!!!!!)

So to Newcastle's "Rockers" GO FUCK YOURSELF AND THANKS FOR NOTHING!!!!!!

Supports on the night were Rumjacks (Check them out. Flat out Rockin' irish punks who know how to play from the heart! Another great gig fellas, cheers!)
And Casino Rumblers, from my town....the less I say about these blokes the better. Just my opinion, same as just because you have an Upright, it doesn't make you Billy fuck all! They always seemed disconnected from the crowd to me in some way I can't explain. More Ska infused Billy ain't my cup of tea,
Having said that, at least they support the scene and Newcastle Rock N' Roll and give people an alternative, potentially opening them up to new bands and music...crowd dug them.
Cheers fellas!

As I walked in I saw Valle standing there watching The Rumjacks and chatting, hmmmmm, not a lot of people here, thinking pleeeeeease pick up, you don't know what you'll be missing, though, music like mostly everything, is subjective and so the lost didn't get to taste the delights of what Mad Sin actually bring to the table. The Fruits of fucking insanity!!!!

I grabbed a couple of beers, met friends and settled back as the Sin' came on stage.
Then it hit me! MAD SIN!!!! ON STAGE!!!!! Everything felt surreal. I couldn't believe they were in front of me with a crowd of no more than 35 people tops, in a two hundred plus venue! I stood just staring, drinking in everything I heard and the playing of the band...
The 4 of us who came together, took turns at looking after thousands of buxxx worth of camera equipment and tag-teamed going down to watch the band in from of stage.
When you talk Frontmen, Koefte is one insane hombre and he commanded the crowd expertly...I was gobsmacked at the relentless energy he exuded, tripping on how tight and energetic they all were and how much better than any fucking vinyl(Fuck CDs), they sounded.

At one stage Koefte said that he bet no one knew their first album, which got a big grinning FUCK YOU!! from where I was at that stage, minding the equipment. I was hoping to hear more stuff off the new album Burn And Rise, but was stoked at the well-rounded mix of stuff they did from their catalogue. Awesome to hear Speak No Evil and Communication Breakdown live among everything fucking else they did, sounded brutal.
Blood pressure rising...
After a brief break, they came back and did a few song encore and asked if anyone wanted to hear anything in particular. Standing there with a mate Scott, I was yelling Meat Train At Midnight and he was screaming Brand New Cadillac..Koefte dug this and so BNC it was, but not to my chagrin. What a fucking version!!! Next thing ya know, Valle's in the crowd totally mobbed slapping the fuck out of his bull fiddle,
Stein in the background casually rocking out on his gat and Matt on the other side, killing it!

Seemed to me like they wanted to keep playing yet, the venue guys were hurrying them up to get off stage (Thanks for that fuckers) the bouncer's started telling everyone to move to the front of the pub and then we were shut out, wondering where everyone was going to party, knowing, thanks to Sickboy Shane, we had a hotel overlooking the whole city, half a block away that would've accommodated that very well...Fuck it!!

Koefte, you're one of a kind mate, fucking powerhouse from hell on stage,
only regret is not being able to have a chat which goes for all of you!
Thanks so much for coming guys and I know, once you hit Melbourne with the Fireballs, you'll be doing bigger gigs and tearing people new headspaces!!!!!!! If you guys ever come back, I'm sure it will be a different story as far as attendance goes!!! I'll tirelessly poster the whole Cuntry for ya!!! Thanks so fuckin' much to Craig and Ruff N' Ready Records...ROCK!

A Psychotic Night!!!!!!!!

(Review by Alabama Man aka Hammerheart aka Big Al the gayest hairdresser in Oz)
(Live photo by Belinda Davey - Rights reserved)