Review: Spiderbait @ Hindley Street Music Hall 25/07/26

Review: Spiderbait w/The Meanies, The Gnomes & Rosie and the Posies @ Hindley Street Music Hall 25/07/26

I have a theory (which hopefully I will delve into one day) that an artist’s third album is always their most important – Radiohead's OK Computer, Metallica's Master Of Puppets, The Prodigy's The Fat Of The Land. For Spiderbait, Ivy And The Big Apples certainly fits this theory. The album’s impact on Australian music and on the band themselves is still felt today, recognisable from their Adelaide visit over the weekend.

Fans young and old flocked into Hindley Street Music Hall early to get prime position for the night. Some at the barrier; others perched on the balcony alongside me, drinks in hand.

The first of three support acts for the night was Rosie and the Posies. With a quick clapping game between two of the members, the band kicked off a full-on rock showcase. Within their short time frame, Rosie and the Posies blitzed through bluesy numbers accompanied by loud vocals, warming up the ever-increasing crowd. Many were shouting for more from the band, but their time was up. We will have to scour the socials to see when their next show will be. 

Next, Frankston garage rockers The Gnomes had Kram introduce them, as well as thanking Rosie and the Posies for the opener. From the first note, The Gnomes were an absolute blast. "Feel free to shake your booty, if you want," suggested frontman Jay Millar – advice that was taken on straight away.

Their unapologetic love letter to The Kinks and early garage rock was always at the front of their sound. Epic riffs, welding guitars like imaginary weapons and jumping scissors kicks were signatures of the set. "Last time in Adelaide we performed to, like, four people." At this rate, The Gnomes will be selling out headline shows very soon. I will be there when that happens.

Kram returned once again to introduce The Meanies. "If it wasn’t for them, we would not be here," Kram explained. With these continuing intros, I think we need a KramFest in the near future.

The Meanies arrived to deliver powerful punk to the already salivating crowd. Vocalist Link Meanie, dressed like a '70s TV show cop in a brown leather jacket, screamed and spat the lyrics out with immense power. The jacket did not remain, so Link could move freely around, whilst the other members of the band continued their professional punk rock stylings. Link jumped, fell, shadowboxed and blew snot on the stage in an incredible raw performance. "I'll clean up [the snot] before your beloved Spiderbait," he taunted. Ending the set screaming on his knees, Link was spent. Hopefully getting a well-earned rest.

READ MORE: Review: The Jungle Giants @ Hindley Street Music Hall 20/06/26

For many album anniversary gigs, the artist will play the album in succession. Spiderbait stuck to that script with opener 'Chest Hair' delivering a huge sonic crash out of the gates. Bassist Janet English took on the vocals for 'Hot Water & Milk' before the first single taken from the album, 'Buy Me A Pony', had every single person screaming the words and jumping around, making the balcony feel like an earthquake had hit.

The first of four instrumentals, 'When Fusion Ruled The Earth', allowed for the initial crowd surfer for the night to surface. The anticipation for 'Calypso' resulted in what was the loudest singalong I have heard for a while.

Even though drummer Kram gets the frontman status for Spiderbait most of the time, he made sure we showed our appreciation for English. With Damien Whitty on guitar, the trio has never changed, making them an iconic band and equally as important as each other.

"Who wants to fuckin’ party!?" Kram yelled before getting stuck into 'Horschack Army', causing the rowdy pit to open up with more nudging and crashing. 'Joyce’s Hut' saw a role swap with English on drums, Kram on guitar and Whitty on vocals. It was a short-lived adventure as the band went back to original positions for 'Jasper'. The pit was in full attack mode – surfers more prevalent for the remainder of the set.

'Should Have Done What My Mum Always Told Me To' was another balcony shaker. Every song triggered a moment for someone in the crowd; nothing missed, and all was on point. 'Hawaiian Nights' saw a sea of clapping hands from above, an incredible sight to see, before Kram addressed the crowd once more before the closer 'Driving Up The Ceiling.'

"We might play the secret track…cheer for a minute, and we’ll come back." For those from the digital era unaware of what a secret track is, if you left a CD playing, sometimes a band would include a secret song a few minutes after the final track. It was a nice surprise for the fans who are lost in the era of streaming music.

As the final song ended, Whitty left his guitar on the fallbacks, creating a sonic distortion soundscape to fill the air before the encore. They did return with the secret track 'Big Furry Green Monster' before a mini-set of classic tracks from their deep discography. 'Shazam!' and 'Outta My Head' kept the good vibes and the crowd surfers going.

"You're fuckin' awesome!" Kram proclaimed before 'Fucken Awesome', but the highlight was, of course, 'Black Betty' – an extended almost 10-minute version that left the crowd on an immense high.  

With my ears still ringing from forgetting my earplugs, the memories of Spiderbait’s Ivy And The Big Apple Anniversary Tour will linger longer. Not just for the band themselves, but the hand-picked supports, who each added to the mini-KramFest-like atmosphere of the night.

A grand slam if ever there was one.