Thursday night at the Rosemount Hotel in Perth saw iconic hard rockers Mudhoney perform the classics in front of a sold out room. It’s been almost 10 years since we last saw the Seattle 4 piece hit our shores but the wait was well worth it.
Opening the night was The Secret Buttons and for those that had never caught this band before, punters were in for a treat. Entertaining to watch, a great sound and a loose rock n’ roll vibe made their set a lot of fun to watch. As excited as they were to open for a band like Mudhoney, it was just as exciting for some of us who get to discover some great bands at these kinds of shows and no doubt they won a few fans over after a stellar set.
Mudhoney are as iconic as the Seattle grunge scene and their impact on the genre cannot be understated. After more than 3 decades, the band still haven’t lost any of their edge as evident from tonight’s performance. A string of classic hits including “Into The Drink” were featured on the hour and a half setlist along with a few newer tracks scattered through-out. Frontman Mark Arm spearheaded the show with a powerful performance but the rest of the band were certainly no slouches either, drawing from years of experience to give the crowd a set of pure rock n’ roll.
Sound wise the band were on point and while the set was as slick as you would expect from a band of their stature, there was also a looseness to it all that felt very organic, a trademark of Mudhoney that has served them well. It was a long time between drinks for us catching them live but the veteran act made it worth while as they punched through various tracks from an extensive back catalogue going back to the early years of their career. The demographic in the crowd was pretty obvious too, people who grew up with this music now enjoying a bit of nostalgia in their later years but one thing is for sure, Mudhoney are timeless as while we could play the nostalgia card all we want, the band are still relevant pumping out new music including their latest release “Plastic Eternity”.
It will probably be a number of years before we see Mudhoney return but some of us will be waiting to come back for more great tunes from a great band.
Photos by Linda Dunjey Photography | Review by Andrew Massie
MUDHONEY, THE SECRET BUTTONS
