Four5Nine, Saturday June 6, 2026
The Shakeys took over the Rosemount Four5Nine bar for a night of punk rock mayhem. It’s been a while since we’ve seen them, but it didn’t show as the seasoned outfit returned as if they’d never been away.
First up, The Barstools‘ Bobby Burgess took the stage solo on the acoustic, and he made that thing wail. The band are fast-paced and heavy blues-rock, so naturally Burgess played with plenty of gusto. It worked nicely for the opening slot – both stripping back the songs and showing off the songwriting, without sacrificing the energy needed for the heavy night ahead.
Up next were False Cobra, the first full band to get things rocking. Interesting fact – the band name is not a random word generator, it’s a type of snake that does cobra-like things, but ain’t a cobra. Anyway, fun fact over with, let’s get to the band. Moving into the punk realm, the drummer-fronted (or perhaps drummer-backed?) band played a hard, fast set full of restless energy. That’s not an easy thing to do on the tiny Four5Nine stage. With generally short, punk-like songs, and a bit of AC/DC vibes coming from the guitars, they got the crowd bouncing and ready for some sweat. Shirts came off.
Zerodent followed as the penultimate act of the night. The power-trio mixes old-school, hardcore punk with melodic guitar lines, the distinct licks more legible with less distortion. All this while the bass and drums power along, giving us what is essentially a tour through punk-rock – from 70s punk to hardcore 80s sounds, with even a hint of post-punk. They were a polished presence and suited the tight room perfectly. And no messing around here – short songs and get on with it.
Onto the hosts of the evening. The Shakeys are part of the Perth/Boorloo music fabric, and it shows from the moment the rock n roll-tinged punks hit the stage. In the now packed room, they brought the energy and the crowd reciprocated. They played a balanced mix of material from their catalogue, which varies from straight up 70s-style punk to more dynamic hard rock.
Straight Mollin was a fine way to kick the crowd into gear, the guitar work a fine example of what Jason Mirosevich is capable of. Talk So Tough showed off more of the band’s groove and dynamics, and was a highlight of the set with the room really going by this point, while drummer Lauren was tight as can be. The classic punk tunes are pure fun, a perfect example being set closer Drinkin’ Till Dawn, with backing vocals taking it to another level.
Once again Four5Nine proves itself a fine, narrow little venue that gets cooking pretty quickly when the bands do their thing. And once again this zine has nothing to offer but front-on shots of the band, and it was even harder with no room to move the closer you got to the stage. Luckily the band gave me some shots to include from someone brave enough to get right into the action.
Thanks Twin Pixel for the excellent pics.
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