The Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman, Anton Newcombe, has come a long way since ‘Dig!’, the 2004 documentary capturing the love-hate relationship between BJM and The Dandy Warhols, and of course, the drugs.
The enigmatic, and now seemingly sober, musician led the band through an array of songs at The Hi-Fi last night, stretching from early drug-hazed BJM days to tracks off their latest album, ‘Aufheben’. All of this in between complaining about Australia’s crappy internet, that is.
As expected, their experimental, psychedelic, or ‘mind-expanding’ as Newcombe has described it, sounds took the audience on a creative journey from the ambient instrumentals through to the rockier shoegaze and European gypsy-influenced numbers.
Overall, the band was in fine form, ending the set with ‘Straight Up And Down’, which included an extended jam outro.
Their reputation may have revolved around fights between band members and unfinished gigs in their earlier years, but they showed no signs of that last night.
If this gig was anything to go by, the band have cleaned up their act, leaving us with nothing but their multi-layered loud and loose sonic goodness that the crowd was so clearly eager to hear.
Click here to view images from the band's Sydney show at the Metro Theartre Thursday May 24.