In a cold sleepy surf club in Warriewood, punk outfit Suspect Device played a comeback gig nearly 25 years after hanging up their safety pins and Dockers, to mark the 50th birthday of lead guitarist (and editor of this site so I need to watch my words!) Mark Fraser...
The one-off trip down memory lane included an eclectic mix of punk classics from artists such as The Ramones and The Clash in front of a packed dance floor of adoring fans.
Whilst the musicians on stage may be ageing (sorry Mark – please don’t hit my face), the music they were playing definitely wasn’t and although the odd missed note was hit, the enthusiasm and raw energy that oozed out of Suspect Device was hard to ignore.
As the Fraser brother’s bounced around on stage as though they were still in their twenties, the tapping of feet grew into a bounce as fans fell in love with classic punk tunes all over again and I couldn’t help but start to pogo like a young Tony Wilson watching the Sex Pistols for the first time.
I would have carried on for longer had it not been for the bad combination of low beams in the surf club and me being undeniably taller than the average man.
Clever projections of animated caricatures adorned the walls as classics like Sonny Curtis'’s “I fought the law” (as per The Clash and The Dead Kennedy’s punk versions) and The Ramones “Hey Ho, Lets Go” echoed out over Warriewood beach.
For the most part the band were pretty solid with some excellent drumming and highly distorted guitars pounding away at the classic punk chord patterns.
At times the lead singer was brilliant and at other times he was out of time, out of tune or simply lost the words – but hey this is music born from anarchy! It’s supposed to sound like that!
The gig certainly bought a smile to my face as I remembered my love of punk and the days moshing in a muddy field to the Sex Pistols and getting head-butted by a pink mohican’d rocker (remind me to tell you all that story one day!)
Whether you love punk or not you couldn’t help but enjoy this gig – if not for the music, for the free bar!!!!
Can’t wait for the next reunion in another 25 years.
Ollie Snowden - redbackrock.com
