Review: Mudhoney at Rosemount Hotel

Mudhoney at Rosemount Hotel
w/ The Secret Buttons
Thursday, May 4, 2023 

Despite 2023 being their thirty-fifth year anniversary, Mudhoney showed no signs of age taking its toll as they delivered a raucous and energetic set full of their trademark fuzzed-up sound to a delighted sold-out crowd at Rosemount Hotel.

Returning to Perth for the first time in nine years, Mudhoney showcased a set that spanned their entire discography, witht racks from the four-piece’s latest release, 2023’s Plastic Eternity, slotting in seamlessly against their back catalogue. It is this consistency that has endeared the band to so many as they continue to make music, first and foremost, that they enjoy, with scant regard to the trends and styles that come and go around them.

Support on the night came from Perth locals The Secret Buttons who with reckless abandon showcased a set of tight, stripped-back rock and roll numbers that got the crowd moving. Fuzzy and overdriven, the band rocked hard by combining pulsating bass with solid riffage and wild solos over thunderous drums and, in a nutshell, making them the perfect opener for the occasion.

After a short respite between bands, Mudhoney walked on stage waving and grinning to the expectant crowd, before lead singer Mark Arm grabbed the microphone and asked the crowd “Are you ready to rock?" before the group dived into their first song If I Think. 

The garage-punk swagger of Judgement, Rage, Retribution and Thyme was a standout, while the double onslaught of Sweet Young Thing (Ain't Sweet No More) and Touch Me I'm Sick mid-set ignited the mosh pit into a sweaty frenzy.

The sound in the Rosemount was a perfect mix of fuzzy guitar, blistering bass and snappy drums which was particularly effective on Plastic Eternity’s Almost Everything’s pulverising bass lines and the fuzz-toned lead of Here Comes the Flood.

Elsewhere, I'm Now from 2008's The Lucky Ones and the more politically-minded Paranoid Core from 2018's Digital Garbage both shimmered in the live arena, before the band made a quick exit from the stage.

Returning for an encore, the four-piece found yet another gear to reach full-out attack mode. Starting with 1992’s classic Suck You Dry and ending with In 'n' Out of Grace, the band absolutely killed it on stage, with the entire crowd moving and moshing along, and shaking the entire foundations of the Rosemount with good ol’ fashioned rock and roll.

MICHAEL HOLLICK

Photos by Talia Ferguson