Situated between a highway and train tracks the campus at UWS Campbelltown provides a perfect location for bands to test the power of their speakers with little in the way of angry residents or workers. With such prime location to transport it also experiences the regular mass exodus on any and every hour by the students. As such any band that dare take to the stage of the bar - which just happens to be atop a hill and at least a kilometre from every other building on campus - must be able to rock to the energy of the dozen strong crowd of faithful students who know that there is more to campus life than the cadavers in the morgue.
The bill listed 1000 Slimey Things and Peabody. Due to some discrepancies with the concept of time and the meridian, 1000 Slimey Things did not eventuate and were replaced on short notice by a new underground band known as The Fangs.
If any band is to play anywhere they must at least have the equipment and power to do so. The recent Billy Idol appearance at the start of the no-neck Festival of the Boot was a reminder to performers everywhere that the execution always follows the plan. On this occasion the power was there but the openers, The Fangs, had no equipment. They were waiting for Peabody to show but they would not reach the venue for some time. The crowd slowly dwindled away until the core of appreciative patrons was left standing and waiting. And waiting. After what seemed like an expanse of time, Peabody finally showed up with the equipment.
The rider for both bands was nothing more than a modest case of beer. In waiting for the equipment to show up The Fangs sucked down half of theirs before they got up on stage. If they were drunk on stage no one could tell. They played with a violent intensity that was only marred by the fact that no one was able to hear a single damn word that they were shouting into the mikes. The lead twice almost took the head off of the guitarist to his right by swinging the guitar as if it was an axe. With so much anger there was so few to appreciate it.
The other band to play to the now despondent and even sparser crowd was Peabody. This time around the words in the songs were audible. They started their set by spitting back onto one of the tables now taken up by The Fangs. In comparison it was obvious that they weren't on their third gig. The intensity must have been contagious as even Peabody let loose to the now deafened and smaller crowd.
Neither The Fangs nor Peabody could finish their riders and as the establishment did not hold a takeaway license both bands tried to get everyone else that hadn't already left drunk on free beer. This action somewhat negated the beer vouchers handed out just earlier and during the performances of both bands. The most disappointing aspect of both performances would have to lie in the paltry attendance of students. If the government is unable to care about the state of Australian education then would missing out on a class or two for some hard and loud rock be so hard?
Reviewed on Saturday, 12 October 2002