It’s been 17 years since I last saw The Living End live. I remember their 2008 Splendour In The Grass set as being loud, rambunctious and full of energy – the 3-piece blistering through a set of teenage classics and modern radio-rock anthems. Frontman Chris Cheney played slide guitar with a full bottle of VB, proceeding to neck the full bottle post-solo amongst a sea of cheers from the crowd. Not much has changed for the band – and it continues to work.
The Metro Theatre is a gift of a venue. Perfectly located, decently-sized and a good-fit for a hot and sweaty Friday night rock-n-roll show. Wollongong natives Bimbo start the night off with high energy, as they blazed through a short 25min set of their flavour of rock-and-roll, ala Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Amyl and the Sniffers and Bikini Kill. It’s a decent set and gets the crowd moving, as the female-led four-piece do their best through a slug of frenetic punk-rock punches. They’re talented, and they serve their influences well. Over-all, ultimately harmless, if not all that memorable – worth winning the support slot.
There’s a specific feeling that encapsulates a venue right before a well-loved, nostalgic band hits the stage. It’s your run-of-the-mill feeling of anticipation, sure, however there’s something a little bit deeper than that. There’s some agitation in the anticipation, as if everyone acknowledges we’ve waited long enough and the seemingly industry standard 30mins between sets feels like eternity. The growing excitement was palpable as the punters cram in to their chosen vantage point, ensuring they can sing, drink and dance in relatively untouched peace. At an ungodly 9.40pm (man, I’m old), the lights go down, and the lads stroll to the stage amongst an absolutely deafening cheer from the crowd. With a quick wave and hardly a word, the band launches into fan-favourite and well-known single Roll On. It immediately gets the crowd moving and singing in full voice – a perfect introduction song that sets the scene for the remainder of the night. The band sounds immaculate – completely in sync and incredibly tight – no doubt due to 22 years spent playing together. As soon as Roll On comes to a close, it’s the first stop of the night to the much-loved debut with Second Solution and the crowd is absolutely ecstatic. I’ll always maintain that The Living End’s debut is one of my favourite debuts on record, if not one of my favourite records in general – and Second Solution is a massive reason why. If someone asked me to show them an example of the perfect rock song, I’d probably show them Second Solution. It’s the perfect blend of heavy guitars, thundering drums, a blistering solo, guitar -only headbanger breakdown, gang vocals and a memorable sing-a-long melody. It sounds as good tonight as it ever has and is undoubtedly the highlight of the night for me.
Chris Cheney really should be near the top of any “most-underrated” list – whether that be frontmen, musicians, guitar-players or songwriters. It’s all just completely effortless for him. There’s no frills to his playing, as he carries both the rhythm and lead guitar playing with ease – switching back-and-forth within songs without skipping the beat. On top of that, his voice has held up incredibly well and there’s rarely a strained or broken note in sight. Truly impressive, but he’s only one piece of the puzzle. Original member and electric double bass player Scott Owen is an enigma, and must have hands carved out of stone to be slappin’ da bass with such ferocity. Andy Strachan (who joined the band in 2003) occupies the seat behind the skins and keeps things incredibly tight throughout the night. It’s often just so nice to see a seasoned band who know each other well, play through the hits.
The majority of the setlist tonight centres around their classic self-titled debut, 2000’s Roll On, and 2008’s White Noise – and all tracks are well-received – however the purpose of tonight was to showcase new single Alfie as well as some choice cuts from their upcoming album scheduled for release later in the year. The new songs are vintage TLE and no doubt the album will be a welcomed return to form after a 7-year record hiatus (their last album being the somewhat forgettable Wunderbar, released in 2018). The mark of a good live setlist is generally how good the setlist is with what’s still left on the table and that’s the feeling I walked away with tonight. Whilst I’d happily switch out Hey, Hey Disbeliever and Hold Up – both tracks were performed well. Missing personal favourites Save The Day, One Said To The Other, Raise The Alarm, End of the World and Tabloid Magazine was disappointing given how long it’s been since I’ve seen the band play live, however it doesn’t take away from the thrill of rekindling the love I have for the band.
Ensuring that good habits die hard, the band ensures they cover tried-and-true antics such as the aforementioned ‘VB bottle slide guitar’, bassist Owens standing atop his double bass as he slaps it harder than Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the breakdown of Second Solution, Cheney following suit later in the set as he performs another memorable guitar-solo (to an absolutely ferocious roar from the crowd) and more. It’s completely evident as battle-hardened as the band are, it’s still all about fun for them. White Noise closes the main set per the script, and immediately the crowd chants for more. Encores are part-and-parcel of any live show these days (kudos to artists who break tradition on this!) and tonight it’s completely obvious that there’s a particular track that hasn’t been played. Sure enough, after a short break the band noodles around E Boogie and riffs from various rock classics, treats the crowd with new song Strange Place and ends the night with two of their most-loved classic hits – the teenage-rebellion anthem Prisoner of Society, and pub-rock certified Uncle Harry – both of which send the mosh-pit into a frenzy. There’s an element of absurdity in seeing 40-something year-old punters screaming “Well, we don’t need no-one to tell us what to do”, but that’s the beauty of nostalgia – it’s not about what something is in the moment. It’s the feeling that memory brings back in us that we respond to. That feeling could be happiness, sadness, regret or in this case – rebellion! It doesn’t matter, it’s our closest link to time-travel and the strength of that feeling drives actions in an unprecedented way. Tonight, we have The Living End to thank for that feeling.
4.1/5.0
The Living End, The Metro Theatre, Friday 16th May 2025
- Roll On
- Second Solution
- Pictures in the Mirror
- Hey, Hey Disbeliever
- Hold Up
- All Torn Down
- Misery
- How Do We Know
- Bloody Mary
- Alfie
- Carry Me Home
- West End Riot
- White Noise
- E Boogie
- Strange Place
- Prisoner of Society
- Uncle Harry
| THE ARTIST'S REVERIE | 
Well written review
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