Artists: Mannequin Death Squad, Laura & the Hell Cutz, Arabella & the Heist
Venue: Northcote Social, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung country)
Date: 10th May 2025
Review by: Faye Pettinella
Photos by: Dave Collopy
Arabella & the Heist
Holy hell, what a way to start the night. As soon as I saw the Ramones inspired look I knew I was in for a good time, and Arabella & The Heist delivered. These guys started on an eleven and never dialled it down, tearing through a set of tunes that drifted from punk to goth rock to new wave – and even a nod to Iggy Pop with a stellar cover of I Wanna Be Your Dog.
The four piece shared an infectious energy on stage as the crowd moved in a mosh of dancing and headbanging. Everyone in this band nailed it – amazing technique and sections from the drummer, aggressive punchy riffs and moments of dreamlike effects from the guitarist. The bassist laid down these earworm grooves like it was nothing and the vocalist captivated the room with expressive movements and a voice that went from hypnotizing to menacing in delivery.
I think it’s safe to say Arabella & The Heist gained a lot of fans tonight.
Laura & the Hell Cutz
Laura & The Hell Cutz delivered a set of slow, churning, rage filled grunge inspired tunes. The five piece had the times of their lives onstage, sharing fun banter and interactions as they played, clearly grateful to be there.
The crowd were sent into a trance as they danced along to songs heavy on melancholic riffs full of attitude. Their set featured memorable lead guitar moments, a pummeling rhythm section providing a solid foundation and a voice that channeled the emotion and energy of their tunes perfectly and tied it all together. They even surprised the crowd with a cover of Celebrity Skin by Hole which confirmed the heavy grunge influence, and you bet it went off with the room breaking into dance, singing along with the iconic hit.
Laura & The Hell Cutz created one hell of a moody atmosphere at Northcote Social, their take on grunge definitely won over some fans in the crowd.
Mannequin Death Squad
What a night for Mannequin Death Squad. This is the last night on the Wise & Dangerous Australian tour in support of their recently released record of the same name. And it’s only fitting to wrap up a massive tour in their hometown at Northcote Social Club, and it’s only fitting that they sold it out. So obviously, tonight was going to go fucking wild – and it did.
The second the house lights went dark the crowd started screaming, a prerecorded voice-over sharing various humorous meanings of dangerous plays and then Mannequin Death Squad took the stage. The powerhouse duo immediately sent the room into a mosh from the first note struck of Keep Me Honest with Elly on guitars, Dan on the drums and both sharing vocal duties.
Elly addressed the crowd, overjoyed at the packed out room, saying ‘Let’s turn this into a party, Northcote’ and for the rest of the night this is exactly what happened. Balloons were released throughout the room and got thrown around, bouncing off the ceiling and drifting onto the stage before getting kicked back off as the duo tore through Everybody’s Moving.
The energy never let up throughout their set as the thrash pop duo shredded through songs from their first record Super Mental Psycho and their follow up, Wise & Dangerous to the joy of the crowd. And even though you know it’s coming, seeing Dan and Elly trade instruments throughout the set is just so fucking cool. These guys are on another level, technical proficiency, stage presence, onstage banter, song writing, their connection with their fans – they’ve got it all figured out – and this is no doubt why they sold out the venue tonight.
If you missed out on tonight, they’ve just announced a show at The Tote on the 28th of June (tickets here) before they jet off to the UK/Europe, so don’t miss out.
Gig Gallery:
