CherryRock008
The Palace Theatre, Melbourne

The Hitmen shows I remember from times long past were often awash in a tide of 90 cent beers, and lit up by lines of cheap speed. Those days are gone now, and seem a very long way away from this strangely corporate festival. The venue changes seem to be a big issue for most punters, and there’s a general air of enforced fun to the day.

But health problems be damned -- like the trouper he is, Johnny Kannis strides onto the main stage with sunglasses firmly anchored, clutching a litre bottle of vodka. He then proceeds to show some of today’s younger acts just how to take control of a crowd.

Kannis is in full-on “Zeus” mode before the band strikes a note, and stays the focal point for the whole set. Drummer Murray Shepherd and guitarist Chris Masuak look older and wiser but are clearly fit and chomping at the bit. Masuak in particular is a very unassuming figure considering his track record. Indeed, he’d be more than entitled to come across as a rock star.

The band has nothing to prove to anyone these days, and they seem to be doing this for genuine fun and pure enjoyment. They’ve picked a set list that ranges right across their back catalogue, including a couple of bona fide classics like ‘Pay Up Or Shut Up’ and ‘Didn’t Tell The Man’, as well as their solid cover of “Shake Some Action”.

When Kannis leaps off stage and into the crowd, and goes for a walkabout, trailing microphone cord, a grown man near the front kisses him on the cheek. For all the bombast they generate, there’s still a lot of love for the Hitmen.

by Trevor Block