Conjure And Command
You know, you lose track of the amount of gigs one has photographed over the past few years. You lose track real fast. One gig bleeds into the next and for the most part, you can get a little complacent and find yourself in photographic auto-pilot. But… every so often, a classic falls your way and you’re left on such a high and infected with a restless, sleep interrupting buzz – well into the cool, dark confines of the AM digits on your clock!
Toxic Holocaust fucking blew me away tonight. I’m talking smithereens here! Kaboom!
But I digress and have already gone to the end of this review before I have even had a chance to begin.
Let me compose myself somewhat and shake this ringing in my ears off a little. Ok. Deep breaths. I think I am ready.
You know it is going to be an insane night of pure, unadulterated Thrash Metal when every studded and denim jacketed punter in Melbourne had found their way into the depths of Melbourne’s Hifi Bar. You know it is going to be a raucous, in-your-face eve when there is no designated photo-pit whatsoever so you’re gonna have to do whatever it takes to get your shot without being caught in the whirlwind of a circle-pit that refused to cease and desist!
It was loud and insane and the floorboards were rattling to pounding kick drums and maniacal punters long before headliners Toxic Holocaust had even set foot on that wretched stage.
Openers Kromosom held their own and in their punk-thrash best, set the tone for the classic evening.
By the time Toxic Holocaust took the stage, the crowd was primed and wired and they latched onto every fucking note, screech and blast-beat like sharks feeding on menstruating carcass’. The gnashing of teeth gave way to killer riffs and a relentless barrage of stage divers and a crazy circle pit that threatened to break the seal to the ninth gate of hell! Fuck me! Can we bottle this fucking energy here boys and girls?
The security quickly gave up dealing with the divers and I heard a collective groan when one punter crashed into the back of the bouncer sending him flying 6 feet into the air and then face-down onto the floor. Within seconds he was drowning in a sea of bodies and for a split second or two… I thought we had a serious incident on our hands.
At the end of the gig, I felt so bad for the bouncer who had been pummelled from pillar to post. So I approached him and said “surely there’s a better way to make a living?” I asked him how he was and he laughed it all off. “It’s all part of the job!”, he said.
It really does not get any wilder than this and I came away from the show blown away and eager to see what I had captured with the camera.
Big cheers to Robert MacManus for the pass and to the amazing Anwar for the loan of the lens tonight!
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