Jan
21
5.22pm

DEEZ NUTS // Ten Years Of Stay True


Deez Nuts with Reactions, Broken, Crowned Kings & White Crows
The Evelyn Hotel Melbourne
19 January, 2018

Yo it’s Hysteria, comin at you live from what feels like the surface of the bloody sun. Melbourne’s cracked 42 degrees today and The Evelyn Hotel currently has one split-system air con running at full blast. At present, it’s doing sweet fuck-all even with a large number of the crowd outside blasting through darts and pints like they’re 17 again. We miss openers White Crows but we’re sure they put on a hell of a set if our predictions were correct

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Crowned Kings aren’t helping the heat situation by whipping the first crowd killers into a frenzy. Their lead singer has a ferocious rat tail (that’s also a giant pony tail so we’re throwing it into the comments to name it) that slaps around as he stalks the stage. The hardcore riffs are thick and fast, and we’re all encouraged to show appreciation for how huge Deez Nuts are in Europe. Which of course is a thing right?

Crowned Kings // By Louie Masscrop

Kicking off with a “the ting goes skrraaa”, Broken are proving that man’s not hot even when the mercury’s threatening to break the thermometer. Cuts like Worldwide show off how they’ve grabbed the East Side hardcore spirit at such a young age. Their set ends swiftly but they’ve got a certain oomph to the chugs that have us gearing up.

Broken // By Louie Mosscrop

Tour support Reactions don’t look the part, but as soon as they start it’s clear this ain’t time for fucking around. Vocalist Lachy Pitcher is a powerhouse as he kneels and screams his heart out. Dudes have their shirts off already and vicious track Toxic Waste sees one crowd member go flying after the pit spits one of them out. She’s fine though and ready again for Wrong Direction which is still one of the most underappreciated choruses in a long time.

Reactions // By Louie Mosscrop

Now it’s really packed out as the main event ready themselves on stage. It’s Deez Nuts so there’s not much to set up so we aren’t waiting long before one chant of “STAY TRUE” from singer JJ Peters rocks out and it’s on for young and old. Anyone familiar with the record’s gang vocals that kick it off will know exactly how the venue shakes with old mates raising their mouths to the sky. Even with the permission of “its still fucking hardcore/stage dives/high fives/that’s what I’m in this for” coming up, the audience have already run a mile with it. There’s hardly a moment during the set where there isn’t someone preparing to sail right back into waiting arms. There’s a decent mix of surfers too: blokes who would’ve been sinking drinks before any of Deez Nuts were even born follow kids who wouldn’t have been able to buy the record of “explicit content” when it came out into the mix.

Deez Nuts // By Louie Mosscrop

Going back ten years shows just how far the band’s lyrics have come, but that’s the point of tonight: the puerile glee of Damn Right is an antidote to the heavy subject matter that follows in Purgatory. That’s not to say that Peters’ introspection isn’t welcomed (it’s the best part of their recent catalogue) but the boorish Like There’s No Tomorrow is what made us all fall in love with the band in the first place. There’s a certain charm to Deez Nuts that’s made them defy any and all expectations of how long they could keep this madcap train going. The secret to their success is that they’re the definition of a good time: it’s hard not to feel an affinity for JJ’s widespread grin as he drops the mic into a whirlpool of sweaty fans. RealBad’s jokes haven’t improved in eight years but his deadpan delivery is enough to warm everyone up. Not every track from Stay True gets a showing but some just aren’t worth their salt when compared to the massive I Hustle Everyday. The band don’t even bother singing when the call and response comes in because the crowd are doing it all for them anyway.

Deez Nuts // By Louie Mosscrop

As we rocket through Band of Brothers and Shot After Shot, the fatigue is clearly setting in with the heat on stage clearly wearing on the band. Peters quickly asks bassist Sean Kennedy what the next song is and is visibly exhausted by the realisation that it’s time for high energy favourite Popular Demand. Nearing the end of their set, the band announce that it’s literally too hot for the band to continue. So rather than scoring the deepest cut in the band’s catalogue, Rep Your Hood, we’re given Your Mother Should’ve Swallowed You as a set ender. Fair enough boys: our shirts are entirely soaked and that’s solely from the moisture in the air so we can’t imagine how it is putting on a performance. Maybe not the perfect end for those who’ve seen the set list and screaming for an encore, but that’s a Deez Nuts set. They do whatever the fuck they want, and that’s all there is to it.

DEEZ NUTS Stay True 10 Year Anniversary Australian Tour with special guests Reactions continues this week.
Tickets available here.

Tuesday January 23, Uni Bar, Woolongong NSW (18+)
Thursday January 25, The Lair, Sydney NSW (18+)
Friday January 26, Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle NSW (18+)
Saturday January 27, Crowbar, Brisbane QLD (18+)





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