'80s Summer Prom (Zombie Ghost Train, The Alohas, The Booby Traps, Bubble Vicious) @ Bar Broadway, Sydney, 17/1/2004

Review of the '80s Summer Prom night at Bar Broadway, Saturday January 17th, 2004. Bands: Zombie Ghost Train, The Alohas, The Booby Traps and Bubble Vicious.

Saturday night's all right for fighting; particularly if you're heading to an '80s prom night in the no-label Naughties. That's the vibe that greeted early arrivals to this evening's celebration of '80s teen ritual at Bar Broadway - at least, the ones wearing faux-leather pants and floral shirts. Repairing upstairs to the gig room, dodgily-dressed (ie: not in Diesel, a-la much of the downstairs crowd) punters found solace in a performance space that'd been festooned with streamers and littered with balloons.

The night was going to be big.

Bubble Vicious opened the evening with a strongly-played set of semi-punk rock. Young, booted and black-clad, the three-piece played a loud, fast set of strong tunes, hampered only by a dodgy vocal mix that rendered most of the lyrics inaudible. Pleasingly, their last song featured the sort of Cthulhu-wakening flanger that Bob Smith only has wet dreams about.

With hints of Sleater-Kinney and a rawer PJ Harvey in their sound, it'd be interesting to hear Bubble Vicious play a set with a better mix. Assuming the vocal muddiness was only a venue-specific problem, there's plenty of potential here.

The Booby Traps - replete with animal-print vest-sporting guy guitarist and an awesome tambourine-wielding frontwoman - took the stage next. Straw polls indicate that the five-piece, with their accelerated grasp on the Josie And The Pussycats side of life, played one of the best sets of the night. Their uberfuzzed, percussive selection of tunes let the crowd up for a mere breath of air before launching back into some kind of Russ Meyer land of hellcats and hairbands. And we want more! Zipping through what seemed to be a too-short set, the band left the crowd wanting more - here's hoping they surface again soon; and this time, they make their merch a bit easier to find!

The tongue-in-cheek surf-stylings of The Alohas should've blown a cool breeze through the lacquered hair of the room, but for some reason they seemed to misfire this evening. Though not ignored by the crowd - the band had a pretty vocal cheer squad watching their every move with delight - there seemed to be a bit much in-jokery on-stage for the crowd at large to really connect. Sure, foot-on-monitor rock-godism is amusing - hell, we all wish we had more opportunity for that, right? - but it seemed to be hitting a flat (though reverb-drenched) note this eve. After all - joke bands are good. One-trick bands are good. But only if you don't overplay it. And for some reason, The Alohas' set this evening had not enough Dick Dale and a little too much dickhead. Great tunes; shame about the smarm.

By the time Zombie Ghost Train took to the stage, Bar Broadway was hot - literally. According to some estimates, the air-conditioning was working at 25% capacity, and the Lauper copycats in the crowd were starting to wilt. Ignoring the hothouse atmosphere, ZGT tore into the set from - initially - places other than onstage, before coming together to deliver a slamming set.

Joined occasionally by Bubble Vicious player Sonya on keys, the 'Train served up the sort of high-energy performance that they've become known for - and which should put them at the head of the list for supports should The Cramps actually get their act together this year and tour somewhere other than the northern hemisphere. Newer songs - those that aren't on the Monster Formal Wear EP - were given an airing at this show. While die-hards will already know the tunes well, to the casual listener it marks a development in their sound, and a more perverse entrenchment in the land of the Big Beat. It takes balls to deliver chunk while wearing an Adam Ant nosestripe - moreso to provide renditions of Devo's Girl U Want and Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (retitled, obviously, Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun) - but that's what was in evidence in spades over the course of the band's set. The reaction of the beach ball-throwing crowd summed it up: though their image is slab cool, the band is shit-hot. And on a Saturday night when you're sweating out your bodyweight in clothes you've not worn for the better part of 15 years, what could be finer?

A special note to the DJ playing between sets: thumbs up! Normally, the time spent setting up amps is dead-time, but when the air's full of fine '80s cuts - from Michael Jackson to Ratcat - there's nobody avoiding the floor. Sydney may be known as the city of folded arms to some, but there's nothing like the finest Bon Jovi to get a dancefloor grooving. Special props go out to the couples dancing rockabilly during Billy Idol's Rebel Yell and The Cure's Lovecats - keep that dream alive!

So: a pretty mixed-bag of a bill: surf rock, crypt rock, grrl rock and vaguely retro-rock. But, under the banner of taffeta and mullets - and with Pretty In Pink on the Bar Broadway televisions - it all came together. Here's hoping that there's more monster-mash style bills coming up soon. But please - LEAVE THE AIR-CONDITIONING ON! You think the fabrics of the '80s handle sweat well? Let me tell you something, buddy...

This article originally appeared on FasterLouder.com.au. I am no longer associated with that website and, as copyright owner, have moved it here for permanent record.