Unwritten Law w/- Mixtape for the Drive & Fight the Morning - Capitol, 14th Dec 2016
Words: Todd Lockley
Well, it seemed like yesterday. It was late 90's and Unwritten Law were opening for Blink 182 at Metro City. An overzealous fan climbed onto the stage and bounced around with the band and everything seemed OK. Suddenly, a mountainous security guard ensured the love fest was ended with a massive crash tackle that drove the young fan head first into the floor. UL skinsman Wade Youman came to the aid of the young fan by grabbing the bouncer by the back belt loop and tossing him into the front crowd barrier.
Lead singer Scott Russso picked the fan up off the deck and shouted into the mic "No one treats our fans like that! No one!". The rest of the security guards shape up to Youman as he stalks the stage looking down at them. Security turned and left. The crowd went wild. Anarchy ensued. A whole new security firm come in. UL rock. Blink suck. Punk rock moment in history secured!
Fast forward 20 years. Unwritten Law have a chequered past when it comes to playing in Perth. Hell, only two years ago, they refused to stop playing after reaching their curfew and destroyed the stage in a final act of defiance. But on their return, on this night, there was none of that.
A healthy crowd had gathered on a proper, summery Perth night to celebrate Unwritten Law 's most popular offering Elva. But first, Perth’s Fight the Morning caught punters by surprise, starting 30 minutes earlier than scheduled, but still managed to punched out a quick set of fast chunky punk rock. Next up, Wollongong’s Mixtape for the Drive were in melodic overdrive as they took Perth on a virgin maiden voyage. It was their very first time in this fine city and they seemed to be enjoying themselves no end. The David Simmons of The World introduced most in attendance to the band, as they worked through a swagger of songs to get the blood pumping.
Their tribute to Marty McFly and The Doc, Roads, had a lot of ears pricking up to the familiar tones of the Back To The Future theme, while Wasteland Kids saw the band coax a few reluctant circle pitters to take formation and circle with full thrust. Rounding out their solid as ever set was Heroes as they thanked Unwritten Law and the crowd for the support.
Lead singer Scott Russso picked the fan up off the deck and shouted into the mic "No one treats our fans like that! No one!". The rest of the security guards shape up to Youman as he stalks the stage looking down at them. Security turned and left. The crowd went wild. Anarchy ensued. A whole new security firm come in. UL rock. Blink suck. Punk rock moment in history secured!
Fast forward 20 years. Unwritten Law have a chequered past when it comes to playing in Perth. Hell, only two years ago, they refused to stop playing after reaching their curfew and destroyed the stage in a final act of defiance. But on their return, on this night, there was none of that.
A healthy crowd had gathered on a proper, summery Perth night to celebrate Unwritten Law 's most popular offering Elva. But first, Perth’s Fight the Morning caught punters by surprise, starting 30 minutes earlier than scheduled, but still managed to punched out a quick set of fast chunky punk rock. Next up, Wollongong’s Mixtape for the Drive were in melodic overdrive as they took Perth on a virgin maiden voyage. It was their very first time in this fine city and they seemed to be enjoying themselves no end. The David Simmons of The World introduced most in attendance to the band, as they worked through a swagger of songs to get the blood pumping.
Their tribute to Marty McFly and The Doc, Roads, had a lot of ears pricking up to the familiar tones of the Back To The Future theme, while Wasteland Kids saw the band coax a few reluctant circle pitters to take formation and circle with full thrust. Rounding out their solid as ever set was Heroes as they thanked Unwritten Law and the crowd for the support.
The lights crept on and everyone took a step or two towards the stage as roadies and techs scurried about, fine tuning instruments and taping down setlists. Before too long, Russo and gang waltzed onstage and launched into Elva's opener Mean Girl. Given Elva was being played in full, in order, there weren’t any suprises, song selection-wise, this night. Up All Night was the bounce along it's always been, with the die hard star gazers at the front being pummeled by the drunken lads who'd come to mosh at anyone's expense. How You Feel was the sing-along celebration it's always been and took the pace back a step for all to enjoy the more tender moments of the Law.
The crowd surfers and stage divers took their turn once again for Blame It On Me, a chance for the bands ever revolving door, guitarist number four, Chris Lewis, to show off his licks, as sweat dribbled from his face down onto the lucky dwellers at the front. Seein’ Red was once again another time to slow it down as the most tender of Russo's vocal abilities shone through and all in attendance were transferred back to that heartfelt break up back in junior school.
For most the night was a trip down nostalgia lane, as Elva, for many, was a snap-shot in time to a soundtrack of youthful good times, chilling with mates and drinking beers. Geronimo, Rescue Me, Babylon... There was no skipping tracks on this LP lay down, even the recorded phone conversations with Phil Jamieson and Tom DeLonge were blasted through the speakers at their moments in time.
The fast, slow, faster, slowest pace rounded out with the tenderness and acoustic tones of Rest Of My Life, before one more title track rousing sing-along of "I'm alright, alright" ended the Elva part of the show, with Evolution of course.
With a short grace the band exploded through the songs they became household names for, Teenage Suicide, their intro to the world Superman and commercial favourite Cailin. The biggest surprise was the perfect ending as they launched into a bone crushing cover of Grinspoon's epic More Than You Are.
In true Unwritten Law fashion, they came, they played, they conquered. All hail Unwritten Law!
The crowd surfers and stage divers took their turn once again for Blame It On Me, a chance for the bands ever revolving door, guitarist number four, Chris Lewis, to show off his licks, as sweat dribbled from his face down onto the lucky dwellers at the front. Seein’ Red was once again another time to slow it down as the most tender of Russo's vocal abilities shone through and all in attendance were transferred back to that heartfelt break up back in junior school.
For most the night was a trip down nostalgia lane, as Elva, for many, was a snap-shot in time to a soundtrack of youthful good times, chilling with mates and drinking beers. Geronimo, Rescue Me, Babylon... There was no skipping tracks on this LP lay down, even the recorded phone conversations with Phil Jamieson and Tom DeLonge were blasted through the speakers at their moments in time.
The fast, slow, faster, slowest pace rounded out with the tenderness and acoustic tones of Rest Of My Life, before one more title track rousing sing-along of "I'm alright, alright" ended the Elva part of the show, with Evolution of course.
With a short grace the band exploded through the songs they became household names for, Teenage Suicide, their intro to the world Superman and commercial favourite Cailin. The biggest surprise was the perfect ending as they launched into a bone crushing cover of Grinspoon's epic More Than You Are.
In true Unwritten Law fashion, they came, they played, they conquered. All hail Unwritten Law!