bruce warner

Bugmantis – ViviKit (self released)

Back in the dim, dark past of Sydney’s nascent underground music scene, a band called the Thought Criminals stood out like the proverbial dog’s. They were so unlike all the other spotty kids on the inner-city block.

Nineteen-seventy-seven (the time of their birth) was the Year of Radio Birdman. The Thoughties, with their jagged rhythms, blaring keyboards, political lyrics and highly-strung vocals, sounded nothing like them. They were post-punk before punk had ended.

It’s going to be a special afternoon when the I-94 Bar presents Kit Identity (aka Bruce Warner of ground-breaking Sydney punk band Thought Criminals) at Sydney’s MoshPit Bar on Sunday, May 26.

The Thought Criminals were one of Australia’s most influential and enterprising punk bands to spring from the febrile Sydney scene. They formed in late 1977, and disbanded in late 1981, leaving three albums in their wake, all on their own Double Think label.  

Bruce now lives in Perth and has been active in ViviKit, a duo with fellow former Thoughtie and Do Re Mi member Stephen Philip, and as a solo artist.

He’ll showcase songs from his most recent solo album, “Kit Identity With The Cosmic Zooclouds”, and some Thought Criminals classics.

Support will come from Sydney’s most exciting postpunk protagonists, Rubber Necker, playing the closing set.

Opening act Wiz and The Trailler Trash Boys, a self-proclaimed supergroup comprising members of the Celibate Rifles, Buffalo Revisited, Filth and Bosom,will be playing a selection of songs about love, hate and drugs. The gig is $15 at the door and runs from 2-5pm, with Kit Identity playing the middle bracket.