My anticipation leading up to seeing The Exploited at The Zoo left me feeling a wide range of emotions. Part of me was really excited to see one of the first punk bands I got into as a teenager. Another part of me was kind of anxious at what the experience would be like. This may have been brought on by the realisation that the price tag for the gig was around seventy bucks, which I thought was a bit steep for a punk band that promotes anarchy and anti-capitalism. I also thought that this might just be a little bit of a money grab and that their performance would lack the passion and energy that they were once famous for. Boy was I wrong.

The first band that I saw were The Scam. The Scam are an up and coming Thrash/Street Punk band from the Gold Coast. They seem to have a bit of a following, with people jumping around and going ape-shit throughout their set. It was snotty, crunchy and fast. Staying true to their punk roots, no song went for over two minutes and the set finished in fewer than twenty. They also didn't do the long and obnoxious guitar solos that some punk bands decide to do. On top of this they had the whole postcard-punk look down. (You know… the ones that seem to spend more money on hair gel than soap and have the typical uniform of boots, ripped up t-shirts, piercings etc). Come to think of it, The Zoo was packed out with postcard-punks who varied between the ages of eighteen to fifty-something; all dressed in their punk uniforms. Overall, I had a blast watching them and would definitely recommend checking them out if you like that old school street punk sound.

Next up was The Exploited. Even though the front of the crowed looked pretty packed out for The Scam, it was nothing compared to the condensed crowd that gathered when these legendary punks came out. Everyone in the band, bar Wattie, is quite skinny and you can see how the consumption of beer outweighs the many years of amphetamine use for this singer (or shouter?). As soon as Let's Start a War breaks out the crowed goes mental. They jump, shove and kick in a great mosh pit up the front, whilst the ruthless onslaught of hardcore/thrash punk never fleets or surrenders. Throughout the set, they played a greatest hits selection, consisting of their best known bangers such as Punk's Not Dead, Dogs of War and Troops of Tomorrow which really created a sense of nostalgia. Although the music was great, their solos would sometimes drag on a bit, which didn’t really fit the punk vibe. I felt as though it would have between better suited for a heavy metal show.

What I really enjoyed about the gig was the happiness and enthusiasm shared by the band. Whilst they spat and spilt drinks, everyone in the band had a great big smile on their face. It really felt like they were ecstatic about doing what they loved for such a great amount of time. Wattie would even give members of the crowd the microphone so they could sing along (and sometimes even a cheeky beer). The positive atmosphere only increased during the encore where a member of the crowd was chosen to sing Sex and Violence; which encouraged a bunch of stage invaders to jump up to dance and sing along.

All in all, they are an endearing statement that sometimes in life you can get away with doing what you love (and get paid for it). Aside from some technical issues, (screeching feedback that caused a song to stop mid set) and some people who thought stage diving was a good idea, didn't get caught and accidentally fly kicked someone in the face the gig was excellent, and a true testament to the statement that punk is definitely not dead.

- Kacper Majchrowski