Strangely, we didn't ask him about any future Regurgitator plans...
I've seen one other gig at the East Brunswick Club, Secret Chiefs 3 on the 12th May last year. The last time I saw Regurgitator (ignoring the Big Day Out this year) was September almost four years ago in Federation Square when they exited the Bubble, and only a little bit before that on 7th August 2004 at The Corner.
I wasn't blogging much then so I don't seem to have reviewed those gigs except something cryptic in September. I specifically remember hating the crowd at the Corner, and thinking much of the new material was "a bit off". I don't remember SPOD actually playing before them though, although he might have come out to sing SPOD vs Quan at some point, although maybe I'm thinking of the time the guy from the ZooBombs came out and sang with Quan way back in 2001.
I've seen Regurgitator a lot.
I had a chance to see SPOD soon after Gurge left the Bubble, when Look Who's Toxic supported him at the Evelyn, but I walked out before he started. I think I talked to him backstage though.
On to last night...
We turned up around 8 and ordered burgers, eating them over the Pacman glass-top table. We chatted with SPOD and asked if SPOD and Quan would do a Blox song. No luck. "We haven't rehearsed".
The guys from Look Who's Toxic were there, and we discussed the idea that Toxic would definitely have been an awesome opener for the night. "We weren't invited".
We walked into the venue around 8:45pm and checked out the merch table. An unrecognised CD caught my eye. Ben Ely (bass, vox, Regurgitator) was selling a $10 CD of demos he'd recently recorded. He'd only made 40 copies (CDrs) and had decorated and numbered each separately. I couldn't have asked for anything more rad. We chatted with him about the recording, and he informed us that Gurge were playing with a new drummer for this tour, as Pete has just had a baby.
New drummer?!
SPOD came on around 9pm and wowed the crowd with his awesome rapping skillz and computer game sound making (via his Nintendo DS and gameboy). For a fairly uninterested crowd he did a brilliant job and probably gained a few extra fans out of the night. Lots of fun. I would have bought his new 7" single but I had no-where to put it.
Gurge came on around quarter past 10. The new drummer hit the skins HARD which gave all the songs extra NUTS but she seemed to be holding back a bit. This was her first gig with the band and it usually took a few bars or a verse before she got the beat really right.
The new drummer added a huge pile of freshness to the band. It was like watching them try out their songs again for the first time after a long absence. Sometimes it was awesome, sometimes they had to fight to make it work, but it was always fun to watch.
I had an absolute ball. The crowd were ten levels above the idiots that appear to hang out at The Corner these days. Polite, really really really into the band, and as Ben said "slam dancing with smiles on". The East Brunswick is a small place, and I loved seeing Gurge on a small stage again.
Their set had an extraordinary amount of Unit tracks, with a few from the new album and a rarely played sped up Happiness from ...Art, as well as all the obvious Tu Plang and EP hits. They played Polyester Girl for "those in the crowd who are seeing us for the first time."
The crowd was mostly mid 20s and up but there were a few youngins and in front of us for much of the night were a couple who were over 50, bobbing their heads in time with Song Formerly Known As.
I hadn't given up on Regurgitator, but the shine had worn off a little. This gig brought me back though. They're so FUN.