The old guard of Brisbane punk turned up in droves for The Buzzcocks first Australian show since 2013. The black clad, middle-age and mohawked felt like the majority, with twenty-somethings and more casually dressed older fans scattered sparingly throughout.

I’ve always thought of The Buzzcocks as leaning towards the bubblegum end of the punk-rock spectrum, so I was surprised to see so many generi-punks around. It was more the type of crowd you’d expect to see at an Agnostic Front show. But they fucking loved it! As soon as the band came out and busted into Boredom, the most iconic track off their debut Spiral Scratch EP, they went wild. It was one of those moments where you say to yourself, “Shit, they’re right, my generation is boring and complacent. This is how you’re supposed to act at a rock show.”

The energy was infectious. Even when they’d go into their newer material (let’s face it, no one was there for that) the mood stayed elevated. When they kicked into classic tracks like I Don’t Mind, Why Can’t I Touch It? or Autonomy, the room was filled with manic energy.

Nobody seemed to mind that the two original members Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle had swapped roles, with Diggle singing most songs and Shelley playing lead. It was still undoubtedly The Buzzcocks. Only, older of course…

They were tight. There was barely 10 seconds of silence between any song. It was an old school "kick out the jams” kinda set. My only criticism was the rockstar moves they were pulling. I always find it odd how as they get older, a lot of these older punk bands end up acting like the "rock-god-dinosaurs" punk started to rebel against in the first place. It’s a bit of a cheap shot though. I didn’t mind the leg kicks and back-to-back guitar licks cos it looked like they were having fun, and fuck it, if you can manage to keep a band going for 40 years and still be this loved, you’ve got a right to have your fun. Be a rockstar…

Of course the songs that everyone was waiting for came closest to the end. No Fast Cars unfortunately but they did smash out a pretty note perfect Orgasm Addict. I can’t help but get a kick out of watching a 60 year old man singing, “Sneaking in the back door with your dirty magazines/And your mother wants to know about all the stains on your jeans.”

The encore was, of course, Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have Fallen In Love With?) and it got probably the best reaction from the crowd. One guy managed to crowd surf; others were stopped before they could jump.

Interestingly enough, the last song of the night was Harmony In My Head, which I’ve always thought was the least Buzzcocks-sounding Buzzcocks song in their repertoire. It made sense once the chorus kicked in though. There was pent up energy still in the room and the harsheness of that song was a catalyst for final release.

In conclusion; I saw the Buzzcocks 40 years on from their peak and 10 years on from the peak of my interest and I still bloody loved it!

- Nathan Kearney