Peter Bibby & His Bottles Of Confidence @ Newtown Social Club, 14th May ’15
Judging by the sell out crowd tonight it would appear that Peter Bibby’s well crafted tales of inebriated debauchery have struck a chord with the masses.
A fair portion of these devotees appeared to be of the young female variety eagerly gathered in anticipation of an evening of R rated karaoke. No doubt Bibby’s witty and intelligent lyrics combined with an undeniable penchant for amusing storytelling are the key to this swell in popularity.
Over simple three chord tunes we are taken all too happily into his world of cask wine and park benches. Tonight’s show seems to be a delayed celebration of debut album Butcher/Hairstylist/Beautician as the early segment of the set virtually mirrors the record’s early track listing.
Since their last Sydney shows back in January, the band has gotten considerably crunchier, with a bit more meat now attached to ‘Goodbye Johnny‘ and mass singalong ‘Home Alone‘. Bibby‘s soloing has also received a shot in the arm, with more aggressive stabs of guitar now linking verses of VB drenched poetry.
As is protocol, stage banter centres around recent drunken misadventure. In tonight’s episode the frontman falls face first from an exceptionally high bed. The drummer comes to the rescue whilst the guitarist sleeps on. This story leads us irrelevantly into “our Nova hit” ‘Bat And Ball‘ before the ultimate booze drenched anthem ‘Hates My Boozin‘ steals the show.
The middle portion of the set steers away into some non album material with the infectious ‘Medicine‘ protruding as one of PB’s more addictive (lyrically and melodically) pop nuggets.
Where else but Australia would you witness a joyous swaying singalong to a ballad called ‘Cunt‘? That is precisely what happened tonight as the set concluded with this delightful dollop of commercial suicide. We may not be familiar with the track’s specific Midland’s delinquent but we all identify with his type.
Descending down the stairs with beaming grins the only possible cause for lament was the abscence of the much loved ‘Stinkin Rich‘ from the set. That minor moan aside, it was everything you would expect from a Bibby show: sincerity, silliness and catchy pop rock tunes.
Photos: Benon Julius William Otto Koebsch
He can also be found clinging to his youth on a skateboard or wandering aimlessly through the bush.
- The Beards @ The Metro, 2nd July ’16 - July 8, 2016
- Parkway Drive @ Wollongong Uni, 25th June ’16 - July 1, 2016
- Basement @ The Factory, 27th May ’16 - June 3, 2016
