The first warm night in Gadigal/Sydney in months saw hundreds of revellers swarm to the Enmore Theatre for a shared headline show by Dune Rats and FIDLAR. Walking into the theatre, you could feel the cool blast of the aircon—a clear omen of the sweaty, chaotic pit to come.
Kicking things off were The Pingers, a four-piece punk band from the Snowy Mountains. Their set was pure mayhem— it felt like a feral 8 AM kick-ons where anything goes. With a lot of chatter about bags and tinnies, they fully embraced the chaos and made sure everyone knew they were here to have fun. Their energy was infectious, and it was great to see them relishing their time on stage.
Next up, Aotearoa-based Dartz charged on with a high-energy “party-punk” set that tore through the theatre like a thunderstorm. Polished, fun, and filled with high jumps, they kept the momentum rolling with a mid-song detour to belt out the Backstreet Boys with the crowd. An ode to winning a court case against an ex-landlord, they’ve got wit, style and a sound that had everyone primed for what was coming next.
When FIDLAR took the stage, frontman Zac Carper wasted no time, twirling his finger in a circle to get a pit forming. If you’re familiar with FIDLAR, you know their discography is a head-on dive into getting smashed, drugs, and their love for the West Coast (US). To say the band has been through it would be an understatement, so seeing them light up a venue as grand as this felt special. FIDLAR were pivotal in shaping my own love for garage surf rock, going all the way back to their self-titled debut album in 2013. So pumped to see them, I ended up with the ISO cranked way too high—but honestly, that sums up the night: fast, loud, and wrapped in the gritty grain that makes garage rock so damn good.
From the top of the Enmore Theatre, you can get a perfect eagle-eye view that encapsulates the chaos unfolding below. The crowd was a sea of flailing limbs, slamming into each other, only to clear out ready to do it all over again. FIDLAR blasted out fan favourites like ‘No Waves’, ‘Sober’, and ‘West Coast’, alongside some new tracks from their upcoming album, ‘Surviving the Dream‘, set to drop on September 20.
A mandatory shoey was in order, and a call for a donated shoe led to at least 15 being hurled toward the stage. After a few shouts from the corner of the barrier, a leg—a prosthetic one, complete with a Vans sneaker but missing its owner, was thrust into the air. Bassist Brandon Schwartzel did the honours, chugging a beer from it. A shoey? Sure. But this? This was Enmore Theatre’s first-ever “leggy”.
A fem-only moshpit, crowd-surfers hoisted out by security, and a general feeling of mayhem and celebration—this was pure garage-rock worship, and it wasn’t over yet. The intermission offered just enough time for a breather, some more cans from the bar, and a return to the barrier as anticipation grew.
Dune Rats, joined by DZ Deathrays’ Shane Parsons, took the stage next, and the room exploded. The crowd went wild as the band tore through hits like ‘Scott Green’, ‘Cheapskate’, and a cover of The Angels’ ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’. A few songs in, drummer BC Michael Marks pulled off the most outrageous beer run Enmore has ever seen, crowd-surfing to the soundbooth and back on a guitar case. The notorious prosthetic ‘leggy’ made a return, leading to Marks’ mid-set vom.
The night was a blur of moshing, thrashing limbs, and beer-soaked chaos. For the encore, both bands came together to blast out their newly released single, ‘Dead, Rich or in Jail‘, before wrapping up with ‘Beers, Bongs and Bullshit’ from Dune Rats’ latest album, ‘If It Sucks, Turn It Up’. If anything can be said, the night was a reminder that Australian punk rock is alive, messy, and as feral as ever.
Dune Rats and FIDLAR 2024 Australian tour
Thursday 5 September – Hindley Street Music Hall, Kaurna/Adelaide SA
Friday 6 September – Forum, Naarm/Melbourne Vic
Saturday 7 September – Torquay Hotel, Wadawurrung/Torquay Vic
Thursday 12 September – The Station, Gubbi Gubbi/Sunshine Coast Qld
Friday 13 September – The Tivoli, Turrbal/Brisbane Qld
Saturday 14 September – Kingscliff Beach Hotel, Bundjalung/Kingscliff NSW
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