Words and photos: Dameeka Middleton

Aussie ratbags Dune Rats and LA-garage rockers FIDLAR delivered a memorable night for the last leg of their tour at Birtinya’s finest, The Station.

Touring for nearly a decade together, punters were exposed to the pure punk roots of these inter-continental best mates, despite the dousing weather.

I arrived a little later than expected, due to a walloping storm on the Bruce Highway.

I managed to experience a fragment of Wellington rockers DARTZ in action, who must have brought their hometown weather with them.

Walking straight into the intro of “Flat Inspection”, frontman Danz had authority of the mob, shifting between the barricade and revving up fans.

FIDLAR (USA) photo gallery

As revellers grabbed a quick feed in between sets, FIDLAR lashed into their tune, “Cheap Beer”.

Frontman Zac Carpenter got straight to the point: “Let’s open this f*cking pit!”

Punters get their ‘wall of death’ on

Heading straight to the floor, the crowd began bashing against each other, “wall of death” style.

Buzzing with adrenaline, a few technical difficulties couldn’t stop FIDLAR and their fans from having a good time.

With the combination of killer riffs, pure passion, and the perfect amount of ferocity from Zac’s vocals, it was everything you’d want from a punk-rock show.

Though FIDLAR didn’t talk much between sets, it did surprise me when I started hearing Zac “meow”. Yes I said “meow”… along to the Weezer classic, “Say It Ain’t So”.

They also managed to slip in a partial cover of Blink 182’s, “Dammit”, during their singalong of “40oz
on Repeat”.

During all this cohesive chaos, Zac flawlessly strummed chords, with his mop of a haircut covering his entire face (I don’t reckon I saw his full face the whole night).

Dedicating their next song to Dave Grohl, I thought with all these surprise covers they were about to play a hardcore version of some Foo Fighters.

Instead, they struck right into one of my favourite songs from their latest album, “Surviving The Dream”, which was of course, “DOG HOUSE”. (Though I was pretty excited for that Foo Fighters cover… maybe next time).

With the pit going strong and FIDLAR’s set coming to an end, Zac brought up some rules for the next song.

Bringing recognition to all the hardcore chicks, Zac said: “This next mosh pit is girls only. A chance for you girls to go hard AF and not worry about some bloke, bloking you up”.

Which followed with a second rule: “If you see a dude in there….. F*CK HIM UP!”

Punters followed Zac’s exact words and brought together a beautiful moment to experience the magic of FIDLAR, within their own boundaries.

Dune Rats photo gallery

To be honest, I was expecting more people, since Dune Rats were on in 15 minutes.

Having experienced a sold-out show of theirs back in 2022, I was ready to fight for my life during some of their ‘moshier’ songs like “Scott Green” and “6 Pack”.

But that didn’t seem to be the case once Danny and the boys took the stage, striking straight into their album’s opening track, “If It Sucks, Turn It Up”.

It was a belter of a song to finally hear live!

Consuming the energy that original Dune Rats members Danny, Brett, and BC were producing, a fourth member emerged from the darkness.

DZ Deathrays make an appearance

He had a familiar face too… it was Shane from Brisbane dance-punk trio DZ Deathrays, giving the boys a hand with their instrumentals!

Despite low numbers, the energy was at full charge once the boys busted into another newer tune, “Be Like You”, followed by fan favourite “Scott Green”.

Though frontman Danny knows how to strut the stage, Brett Jansch (bassist) stole the show with his power poses and perfectly timed hard-core screams.

Bassist steals the spotlight

Setting his guitar strap so low I thought it would scrape along the ground, Brett showed he doesn’t seem to mind, since he was flinging his guitar around like a football.

It officially became a Dune Rats gig when a devoted fan stood on the barricade, downing a XXXX out of a limited-edition Dune Rats X Volley shoe.

Catching Danny’s attention, he quips: “You’re gonna be in for a memorable night, Sunny Coast.”

Whether you’re a new fan or old, the boys serve up a range of classics from their discography to appease everyone.

From “Red Light, Green Light”, which a fan requests them to play twice, to fun songs like “Too Tough Terry”, and even some tunes off their self-titled album from 2014.

But, nothing gets the crowd going more than a cover of an Aussie classic, especially when it’s from The Angels.

As the boys begin playing their Triple J Like A Version track, “Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again”, the people get fired up.

Finishing off their set, the boys play a mellower song to ease us into the night, “Beers, Bongs, and Bullshit”.

An intimate punk-rock perspective

Though it wasn’t your typical jam-packed, hard-core gig, it was great to experience Dune Rats from a more intimate perspective.

The lack of crowd didn’t stop the boys from being less dedicated to their parts. And the people that showed up, certainly did!

With the cost of living crisis affecting our live music scene, it was so great to see there are still people wanting to support our epic talent.

Let’s keep it up, Sunny Coast!