The Living End at Terminal 5

Vocalist/guitarist Chris Cheney and upright bassist Scott Owen met in primary school in Melbourne, Australia, and by 1990, while in high school, they were making music together, busking the streets of Melbourne. Cheney was a fan of rockabilly group Stray Cats and this prompted Owen, who originally played piano, to switch to double bass. Recruiting various drummers, the pair formed the Runaway Boys, named after a Stray Cats song, and performed covers of songs by  the Stray Cats and the Clash. By 1994 Cheney and Owen were writing their own songs, which started to incline towards punk and pub rock, and changed the band's name to the Living End, a 1950s expression meaning "the greatest." Since 2002 the Living End has consisted of Cheney, Owen, and drummer Andy Strachan. The Living End's seventh studio album, Shift, was released on May 13, 2016.

Opening for fellow Australians Midnight Oil at Terminal 5 tonight, the Living End played a shorter set than it played at a headlining gig at the Gramercy Theatre last November. Once again, the band married its original punkabilly sound to raucous rock and roll and hard rock, fueling a blustering fire with gasoline. There were few quiet moments, as the band performed with unharnessed energy, with Cheney shouting lyrics and playing rollicking guitar leads and Owen playing his large bass all over the stage. Midway through the set, the one song that started as a softer reggae-inspired song evolved into a banging rocker coupled with gang vocals. With proper exposure, the Living End's controlled rampage could win a strong American audience.

Setlist

1. Second Solution
2. Roll On
3. End of the World
4. How Do We Know
5. Who's Gonna Save Us?
6. Prisoner of Society
7. White Noise
8. E-Boogie
9. West End Riot