ARTIST: WEDNESDAY 13
DATE: FEBRUARY 2ND 2024
VENUE: THE TRIFFID
REVIEWER: ANDREW TREADWELL
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW TREADWELL PHOTOGRAPHY
I discovered Murderdolls by chance. My old workplace sold many things, CDs being one of them. Each Friday, a portion of my wage went on music and putting my staff discount to full effect. I would get a bunch of stuff I planned, but always one or two discs based on the cover alone, just like how I discovered Kiss in the late 70s. Scouring the Rock/Metal section, boom there it was. The Murderdolls “Women And Children Last”
I was hooked. Visuals and great music. Win Win. I never got to see The Murderdolls live but have never missed frontman Wednesday 13 on his tours here, and when he decided to do an evening of The Murderdolls, I was all in
Kicking off the night was Terror Parade. A perfect pairing with there horror rock/punk vibes they got the crowd ready.
After a quick break, Wednesday and the boys ripped into Chapel Of Blood with Wednesday making sure he set his expectations for crowd participation from the get go by screaming, “Brisbane, Raise Your Motherfuckin’ Hands”, and on cue, the Triffid crowd, raised them high.
Wasting no time Mr. Motherfucker tore into “Death Valley Superstars”, and “197666” while stalking the stage left to right, making sure he had full command of the crowd.
This tour, is a celebration of The Murderdolls, and pays tribute to Ben Graves and Joey Jordison, on more than one occasion Wednesday fondly remembered Joey saying “He took me around the world, I wouldnt be here if it wasn’t for Joey Jordison”
The debut album gets a three-peat with “She Was A Teenage Zombie”, “Slit My Wrist” and “Love At First Fright” which had me imaging what it would have been like to see them play at Big Day Out, back in the day.
Jack Tankersley and Roman Surman were both in the last incarnation of The Murderdolls (as well as in Wednesday’s Solo Band), and you could see the pride on their faces as they slammed away on their guitars. Wednesday, Tankersley and Surman are joined by the rhythm section of bass player Troy Doebbler and drummer Mike Dupke who give Wednesday 13 a thunderous bottom end especially on tracks like “Blood Stained Valentine” and “Pieces Of You”
I am probably a minority, but I LOVE drum solos. Mike Dupke’s solo spot is one to behold. He gets to the point, gets it done and gets out, but does it full fucking throttle. I was in awe of not just his power, but his precision. So fucking cool.
This lead us in to the closing portion of the set with “People Hate Me”, “Welcome To The Strange”, the massive hit “Nowhere” and “Summertime Suicide”
After a break the boys come back out and kick right in to their cover of Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”, and then as Wednesday reached for his trusty umbrella, we all knew it was time to say “Fuck”, with “I Love To Say Fuck”, and we ended the night with “Dead In Hollywood”, Wednesday and the band bid us all goodnight and left the stage drenched in sweat, just like their audience.
Wednesday is one of the most prolific artists around, but never compromises on quality. His albums, and tours are always at the top level, and I am sure we will have new music before we know it and hopefully he will be back in 2025. But for now, we can all be glad he flew that Murderdolls flag high. What a night. Thank you Wednesday, Roman, Jack, Troy and Mike. You truly kicked Brisbane’s ass.
