Gallery: Helmet Melbourne: ‘Betty’ Gets One Last, Loud Goodbye At Northcote Theatre

Melbourne copped a full force blast of Helmet at Northcote Theatre last night (April 26th), with Page Hamilton and co. tearing through Betty in full, likely for the last time ever.

This was sharp, heavy, and locked in, from the first crunch of ‘Wilma’s Rainbow’, it was clear Helmet weren’t here to coast, Betty still sounds wired wrong in the best way. Off kilter riffs, stop-start rhythms, and that cold, mechanical groove that’s influenced half the bands that came after them.

Helmet – Northcote Theatre

‘Things are sh*t in the States’

Hamilton didn’t shy away from the outside world either, he cut through the noise with a blunt admission that ‘things are sh*t in the States’, before joking that he’d happily relocate to Australia if it were that simple. At one point, he even told a random punter he’d just move in with them.

It landed somewhere between humour and something a bit more real, the crowd ate it up.

A band still wired tight

There’s a reason Helmet’s catalogue still hits, it’s precision with tracks like ‘Milquetoast’ and ‘Street Crab’ sounding just as jagged and uneasy as they did decades ago, while ‘Clean’ and ‘Vaccination’ kept that low slung tension simmering.

Hamilton also took a moment to reflect, shouting out their first Australian run on Big Day Out and noting they’ve been back close to 20 times since, for a band that built its name far from here, the connection felt genuine.

He made it clear they’re not done either, telling the crowd they hope to return soon, and judging by the response, Melbourne would have them back tomorrow.

No wasted moments

Outside of Betty, Helmet dipped into the catalogue with ‘Unsung’ and ‘In the Meantime’, both landing like a hammer, the encore pushed further, including a tight, no-nonsense take on Black Sabbath’s ‘Symptom of the Universe’.

Helmet Setlist Betty – Album live in full (final performance)

Wilma’s Rainbow
I Know
Biscuits for Smut
Milquetoast
Tic
Rollo
Street Crab
Clean
Vaccination
Beautiful Love
Speechless
The Silver Hawaiian

Overrated
Sam Hell
Dislocated
Ironhead
Unsung
Gun Fluf
Driving Nowhere

Encore:
Sinatra
FBLA
Symptom of the Universe (Black Sabbath cover)
In the Meantime

Photo credit: Alexander Hallag