By George Palathingal
Surf rockers Hockey Dad hit the Enmore Theatre. Credit: Ian Laidlaw
Hockey Dad ★★★★½
Enmore Theatre, September 8
Something fantastic has evidently been happening in Australian garages of late. Kids have been plugging in guitars and learning a few chords, roping in a mate to have a go on drums (other instruments optional), spending any surplus pocket money on breath mints and air freshener (the “parentals” will never guess) and basically been having a blast.
Yeah, yeah, kids have been doing this for years. The difference now is that for the first time in ages we’re actually getting some pretty terrific bands out of it.
The latest of these ratbag rockers is Hockey Dad, a duo from Wollongong suburb Windang whose two albums have won over everyone who’s heard them with their raw energy, lovable irreverence and dynamite tunes.
They’re as surprised as anyone to be playing this sizeable venue (twice, no less – the second is on Sunday) but don’t let it show, musically speaking at least, over an hour-and-a-half so apocalyptically exciting that by the end of I Wanna Be Everybody fans are jumping off the balcony to join the mosh downstairs.
But the thrill is in the air from the moment Zach Stephenson unleashes that first satisfyingly crunchy riff. With Billy Fleming thrashing and crashing on his drums on the other side of the stage, the pair have the time of their lives.
They burn through everything from Can’t Have Them, one of many songs lifted by Stephenson’s evocative yearning vocals, to an electrifying Homely Feeling via an unexpected rush through a Britpop classic (Supergrass’s Alright, emphatically given the Hockey Dad treatment) and the odd token slower song (though even Danny can’t bring down the energy levels).
What’s more to like? Well, Fleming’s the kind of guy who overcomes technical difficulties by getting a roadie to gaffer-tape in his in-ear monitors and they’re the kind of band who get the crew to shoot T-shirts into the crowd, possibly just because they have a song called Raygun – so by a glorious Join the Club, the few in attendance who might not previously have been on board have undoubtedly signed up.
“I don’t wanna go home, I’m having too much fun,” sings Stephenson during Jump the Gun. We know exactly how he feels.
Hockey Dad play at the Enmore Theatre on Sunday night. Tickets are still available.