Review: Dead Kennedys at Astor Theatre
Dead Kennedys at Astor Theatre
w/ Last Quokka
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
It’s always going to be a bad time for Nazis when Dead Kennedys and Last Quokka take over the town.
So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that local punks Last Quokka revisited their 2016 breakthrough Nazi Scum for the occasion. “You Nazi scum will burn forever!” singer Trent Rojahn screamed over appreciative cheers, in a set that also featured more recent anti-fascist faves like Eat the Rich and Gina / Rupert.
Some 10 years since they first sneered their way out of our northern suburbs, they’ve released four excellent albums and a slew of EPs to become one of Perth’s best bands. Period. It’s good seeing them getting their due with support like this and Jon Spencer in the space of just three days last week.
For their part, Dead Kennedys were never going to leave out Nazi Punks Fuck Off. Not in 2025, when this weird trend of racist fuckwits outing themselves publicly seems to have become the norm. Go back to your bedrooms, incels.
But is it still Dead Kennedys without fierce frontman Jello Biafra? Sure it is. They’re not the first act to undergo a key change of personnel (hello, AC/DC), and current singer Skip Greer has been with the band since 2008—officially their longest-serving singer even if he hasn’t contributed to the songwriting.
Truth is, that last point is why this trip down memory lane was such a blast. It was 70 minutes of all killer, no filler blasts of short songs, satire and some of the greatest punk songs ever written.
In fairness, in their short-lived initial phase of 1978 to 1986, DK have as legitimate a claim as Sex Pistols, Ramones and the Clash to being the greatest punk band ever. So the fact they didn’t play anything from after that period didn’t play out like a lack of inspiration. Rather, it was exactly what it said on the lid: Dead Kennedys playing Dead Kennedys.
This particular night was the East Bay Ray show, and seeing perhaps punk rock’s most influential guitarist live was a real joy. Greer accounted himself well with the kind of energy and showmanship a DK show needs, while Klaus Flouride had some fun moments on bass and backing vox. But seeing Ray tear up Police Truck, Let’s Lynch the Landlord, Kill the Poor and Too Drunk to Fuck felt like finally getting to watch a mad genius in the flesh.
Like taking a trip back to the 80s for a night, there was more crowd surfing and moshing than Hard Ons at the first Big Day Out, as the incendiary trio of California Über Alles, Chemical Warfare and Holiday in Cambodia each closed out a set (the two encores also featured covers of Viva Las Vegas and a brief segue into Sweet Home Alabama).
Like the hardcore punk scene they inspired and the politically charged lyrics they brought to the mainstream, their place feels as valid in 2025 as it ever did:
“You still think swastikas look cool
The real Nazis run your schools
They′re coaches, businessmen and cops
In a real fourth Reich, you’ll be the first to go”
Nazi punks… fuck off.
HARVEY RAE
Photos by Stu McKay
