CKY don’t do polished or polite, they show up, plug in, and hit you with that grimy, skate-punk-adjacent rock ‘n’ roll that soundtracked half the best bad decisions of the early 2000s.
Last night at Maxx Watts in Melbourne, the East Coast run kicked off and reminded everyone why CKY still sit in that sweet spot between riff heavy rock and full on fun, our photographer Philippa Louise Grosse was on hand to catch it all.
This was the band behind ‘96 Quite Bitter Beings’, ‘Flesh Into Gear’, and ‘Escape From Hellview’ in the flesh, and they came in swinging.
The setlist was stacked with classics and deep cuts, with the crowd screaming along like it was 2002 and you’d just thrown on Viva La Bam again for the twentieth time (we’re all guilty of this).
The band tore through ‘Attached at the Hip’, ‘Sink Into the Underground’, ‘Shock & Terror’, and ‘Head for a Breakdown’, before closing things out with the undeniable one, two punch of ‘96 Quite Bitter Beings’ and the encore run.
One of the wildest moments? ‘Bran’s Chinese Freestyle’ with a fan on vocals, there was no ego here, just pure unhinged energy.
Support came from Gold Coast two piece Atticus Chimps, who warmed the room up with a loud, scrappy blast of punky hard rock that felt built for small stages and big volume.
Remaining dates
If you missed Melbourne, you’ve still got a shot, CKY are tearing into Sydney tonight and Brisbane tomorrow, get your tickets here.
CKY Remaining tour dates
- Saturday, Jan 24: Crowbar, Sydney
- Sunday, Jan 25: Crowbar, Brisbane
CKY Setlist (Melbourne – Maxx Watts, Jan 23)
‘Rio Bravo’
‘Attached at the Hip’
‘Sporadic Movement’
‘Sink Into the Underground’
‘Flesh Into Gear’
‘Frenetic Amnesic’
‘Escape From Hellview’
‘Head for a Breakdown’
‘Shock & Terror’
‘Can’t Stop Running’
‘Disengage the Simulator’
‘96 Quite Bitter Beings’
‘Bran’s Chinese Freestyle’ (fan on vocals)
‘Inhuman Creation Station’
‘Close Yet Far’
‘Familiar Realm’ (encore)
‘Escape From Hellview’ (encore)
Gallery
Venue: Maxx Watts, Melbourne, Australia
Photographer: Philippa Louise Grosse
