Guitar Wolf
+ Meow Meow and The Smack Outs
+ L.A.R.M.
The Factory Floor, Marickvile, NSW
Saturday, March 21, 2026
What was that? Twelve hours later after being swept out of The Factory Floor like post-gig detritus, it’s still sinking in. A couple of their albums grace the I-94 Bar’s shelves but accidents of timing somehow determined that this was my first in-the flesh Guitar Wolf experience.
So what was it like? Speak up, I can’t hear you. And watch where you’re walking, that’s my dropped jaw you’re about to step on.
Let's set thre scene: Guitar Wolf are from Japan. They call their music Jet Rock and tonight they’re parading it in Sydney’s Inner-Western Delta, at a venue squarely located under the approach to Sydney Airport’s east-west runway. You can touch the bellies of the planes as they fly overhead and the noise can rattle your dentures if you’re not Alfalfa deaf or conditioned by years of Marrickville California bungalow dwelling.
In the Vic in the Park, a short stumble from The Factory Theatre complex, management is screening the Asia Cup women’s soccer final between Australia and Japan. The place is packed to the gills and it’s not a bad pub, despite having been swallowed up by the Justin Hemmes Evil Empire.
Call me a hypocrite for pre-loading at one of his beer palaces,but old Justin hasn’t comodofied this pub just yet. He even lets people keep bringing their dogs. Soccer (habits means I can’t bear to call it football) might be the drawcard in the front bar, but the discerning of us of us are glued to the Wests Tigers-Souffs NRL game.
First half of that one over, it’s time for some Factory Floor action and opening support L.A.R.M. are already grinding out their gritty garage rock sound. At first take ,you might mistake them for harder-edged cousins of Melbourne’s revered Eddy Current Suppression Ring, with frontman Luca pacing back and forth in similar fashion. The cheesy key were a meaty addition.
The rest of the band lacks stagecraft but the songs are solid and they aren’t a bad way to warm up. L.A.R.M. are locals and have a strong contingent of followers in tonight but it’s not enough to make The Factory Floor confines crowded (capacity: 250) yet which makes you wonder what excuse Sydney found to stay home tonight.
Also being locals, main support Meow Meow and The Smack Outs might have enlightened me but their abstract punk wail was not my bag. The singer’s playing of a slide whistle brought on primary school recorder lesson flashbacks.
How did I manage to miss Guitar Wolf live for so long? They’ve been such frequent visitors to Australia they qualify for residency.
Band leader Seiji makes it obvious in every interview that Guitar Wolf are unashamedly plundering the crypts of rock and roll to fuel their Jet Rock journey but so what?
Little Richard would be whooping away at side of stage inhis coffin/closet if he recognised tonight’s cover of “Long Tall Sally”, and Link Wray would likewise be happy with the band’s all-leather dress sense. By the time Guitar Wolf come on, the room has filled reasonably if not to overflow, and the mood is anticipatory.
We cop an earful of Ramones as the band assembles. There’s a long intro section with Seiji summoning the beat with exhortations of “Ha!” and then we’re off to the races.
Newish bass player Gotz is strikingly full-framed compared to his bandmates. He’d (almost) need an exit row seat on the plane trip over. He’s also a rock solid player. Drummer Takuro pushes the beat hard and generally propels this three-piece beast forward.
And Seiji is the ultimate showman, thrashing his guitar and barking barely discernible lyrics in a way that belies his unassuming personality, judging by a brief encounter in the beer garden before the set. Anyone with the fashion taste of wearing a T-shirt that honours San Diego’s wonderful band The Dragons deserves extra praise.
They have a new album, “More Jet”, in the racks right now (their first in seven years); I’m not trying to be unkind but Guitar Wolf is largely not about the songs. “Invader Ace” is in the set as is “Jet Generation”. They pepper the bracket with a sprinkling of covers like the aforementioned “Long Tall Sally”, a seismic “Summertime Blues”, “Rumble” and what might have been a mutant and lengthy take on “Kick Out The Jams”, but it’s all about the theatrics,
Seiji summons a woman from the audience and gives her an impromptu lesson how to bang out a chord. She’s happily knocking out a sound while the man hims grabs the mic and belts out a song, sans his guitar. A foray into the crowd, hoisted on the punters’ arms, is almost obligatory,
Gotz even gets into the act leaving his bass fading back against his speaker cabinet as he launches himself out into the supportive hands of the masses. Guitar Wolf owns this crowd and probably every other one they encounter.
The energy level is off the scale. From a vantage point on the lip of the stage, the pools of sweat at the feet of both Seiji and Gotz are obvious. Takuro looks like he’s been caught under a shower. With those sorts of perspiration levels, The Man Formerly Known as Prince Andrew wouldn’t last five minutes with this band. Their luggage must be putrid and need fumigation after every tour.
More than a hour later, the last buzz of a two song encore is hanging in the air as an exhausted Guitar Wolf head backstage to recover.
It was A Show. Primal and true to the spirit of punk rock and the forebears who made it happen.
By the way, Japan won the Asian Cup 1-0. Guitar Wolf’s victory was by a far bigger margin.
