Infectious Chaos
Infectious Grooves and Suicidal Tendencies unleash their spirit at The Fortitude Music Hall on Easter Sunday in Meanjin, March 31st, 2024.
The Freaks Have Arrived <:o)
I was running somewhat behind as I was generously pacing my 5ft legs to the Fortitude Music Hall to get myself prepped to shoot Infectious Grooves, as I ran into Jay Weinberg and his wife Chloe on the street out the front of Rics. I had to take the opportunity to say Hi… Jay is one of those people you can’t help but worship a little. He drummed for Madball, one of my favorite HC bands, generously filled the shoes of Joey Jordison (Slipknot) for the last 10 years & now moving into a new phase as suicidal tendencies backbone.
He and his wife took the time to talk and share words with me and were truly gracious. I needed to move on because I had SD cards to wipe and batteries that needed changing, but my cool exterior composure was a sham the minute the conversation ended and I was too stoked to have just met such a metal drumming icon. I’m another voice adding to the ‘Jay Weinberg is the nicest person ever’ discourse, but I do that gleefully.
The chaoticness of my entire day and the moments before getting inside the Fortitude Music Hall made for a huge day; From a 4 am location shoot to suicidal tendencies, I was on the tools today, truly and wholly.
The chaos had only just really begun though, as the clock turned 9 and a large group exploded on the stage and spawned a million bodies.
I love it when a live show has a bit of flare…that extra element to make it feel like a special show, for your city or country - Infectious Grooves know how to charm as a prerecorded video entertained us before making their way on stage. This amps the mood up incredibly - except for when you’re Morrissey and you play 100 music videos before you walk on and everyone boos - IG got this amp-up video down in 3 minutes max, a dedication to Australia, and then BURST onto the stage with ‘These Freaks Are Here To Party’ - their 1993 hit. It was a palpable and contagious energy that only grew.
The supergroup on tonight’s stage included OG’s Mike Muir, and guitarist Dean Pleasants - (who were just here in November with Suicidal Tendencies), joined by founding IG’s bassist Robert Trujillo, making this his first time back in AUS for over a decade since Metallica’s last AU show. OG Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver added extra funk to the stage tonight alongside the king himself, Jay Weinberg holding it down.
Slightly overwhelmed, manoeuvering a pit of full photographers, a camera being temperamental since the knotfest downfall, a hurting crowd and a stage full of jumping funky men - I managed to step on someone’s foot and lose my lens caps (AGAIN?!) I apologise to whoever I stood on - my bad - but It was an energy that was uncontainable. It was some of the best live energy I’ve ever seen...especially for people who have been doing it for 40-odd years.
If you’re a regular reader - you’ve probably picked up on my saying this, but I did in fact have Infectious Grooves on my iPod touch as a teen & think it’s really where my interest in funk and bass guitar spawned. I’d previously been semi-uninterested in bass and was all about lead vocalists - but IG educated me through my tinny off-brand headphones on the bus to school and in the library on my ‘spare’ (which was painfully the last period on a Monday, where I was unable to leave until 3 pm.) I filled that empty nothingness spare with music - not homework - and Infectious Grooves & Suicidal Tendencies made the time pass as quickly as it could have, alongside Pantera and Avril Lavigne.
I always find it a bizarre experience seeing an act live for the first time, especially something so rooted in my youth - it unlocks a plethora of memories and always chokes me up regardless of genre. I was cracking my neck to every bass run but also phasing in and out of existentialism - it’s all I know.
After These freaks, Turtle Wax and Stop Funk’n, I escaped the cluttered photo pit and slinked around to stage left to a pocket of short people I could see between. Taking in so much on-stage banter and trying to keep up - [Mike Muir is almost too charismatic and energetic for his own good] and keeping up with the endless banter was just one fantastically chaotic element of the group’s performance as a whole. I was hearing talk about Dave’s Doughnut Shop Dream, their Bluesfest appearance tonight (April 1st), and their love for playing Australia. We also got a lot of banter from Trujillo which was fantastic to witness. His spirited nature among everyone on stage was full of vigor and vibrancy, only proving their name ‘Infectious’ totally and utterly true.
Their set contained hit after hit, ‘Punk It Up’, ‘Therapy’, their infamous David Bowie cover ‘Fame’ [my introduction to the band], ‘Funny Farm’, ‘Violent & Funky’ and ending on ‘Infectious Grooves’. (There were more tracks, however from memory, these were the classic standouts). Trujillo then jumped on the mic to insist we ‘DON’T GO anywhere…[we] have a surprise’. After a few minutes of stillness on stage - the very rowdy group behind me who spilled beer everywhere on the floor trapping us in a triangle of wet floor signs - started screaming ‘ST, ST Ya F*ckers’. I had suspected a cheeky ST encore but we were spoilt with about 5 tracks which included ‘Subliminal’, ‘Send Me Your Money’ and ‘Pledge Your Allegiance’. These were extra special performances as Tye Trujillo came out on bass. It was ridiculously good. A real: ‘Screw-you, child prodigy!’ moment (for those more cynical), but a wholesome and sweet surprise for those unaffected by child prodigies. At just 12 years old, Tye toured as Korns fill-in bassist in 2017 and has since continued to grow in talent and range. It was completely jaw-dropping seeing someone so young wielding their instrument with total maturity and confidence…I think I witnessed my first bass face melter & so shortly after having Zakk Wydles guitar melting at face level last Sunday evening…It’s all a bit much for me to take in - in the cheesiest way possible.
Thank you Chris + Cyscostralia touring for allowing me the absolute pleasure of covering this show.
