:: The Living End / The Casanovas live at The Palace - December 2003

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

This was set up to be a gig of a grand scale as The Living End was performing in probably the last big non-festival show of 2003 and The Palace was the perfect venue to see out the year. This venue has seen some blistering rock shows and hot, sweaty nights over a twenty year period and fans weren’t let down.

I arrived just for the start of The Casanovas’ set. I’d seen them at the same venue earlier in the year and they then displayed a satisfying level of fire and noise; being just prior to an overseas trip. This time, there seemed to be something missing. Maybe the fire wasn’t in the belly, but this tour would have given them an opportunity to really stamp their mark on the scene. They’d always been talked about on the same platform as The Datsuns, Jet, and The Vines. They have a good bunch of songs but they sounded too impotent and didn’t show any flair to a big crowd that came early for a big night. It was pretty disappointing and hopefully just a rare off night.

The fans definitely came to see The Living End. Melbourne fans had missed them for so long during most of 2002-2003 and I suppose it was the first time that many had been able to see them play at a venue like this since their 2003 Big Day Out performance. I was looking forward to seeing them again and it was fantastic to see the Palace absolutely packed. The chanting, the moshing, and the passion was all there to see as the band played their frenetic, yet stylish, brand of rock ‘n’ roll. They blasted into songs from their latest ‘Modern Artillery’ album and the obvious old favourites showed how fine a live band they are. The crowd roared fervently for encore after encore, but there was only so much time available. It was a terrific show. With the form that they showed, it won’t take long for The Living End to show up as a force again outside Australia. There are tours of the USA and Japan looming and they look set for further inroads in other territories.