Live Review: Camp Cope, We Set Sail, Muddy Chanter, Marville

Crowbar sits below street level on Brunswick Street like an abandoned bomb shelter. The underground concrete bunker is a staple in the Brisbane hardcore scene, and tonight sees no shortage of flannelettes, hoodies, and every type of black clothing imaginable shuffling throughout the room with hunched shoulders.

Brisbane band Marville are the first performers playing this evening, the pair summoning an unholy amount of noise. Singer Ash Kerley sounds like a true rock'n'roll queen, as every word she utters drips with pure disdain. They slow things down midway through their set, but finish on an energetic burst that sees the growing number of surly crowd members tapping their feet.

Youthful five-piece Muddy Chanter are the next band to crowd the small stage. Their excitable brand of indie-rock lightens up the dungeon-like room with their latest single, Poco Cholo, as the band members relish in the chance to let down their hair. They blues it up mid-set, and throw in some falsetto harmonies during Interview that are an endearing addition to their delightfully juvenile sound.

We Set Sail represent the third and final Brisbane band on the opening bill, although the contrast between them and the preceding acts couldn't be more pronounced. Their atmospheric post-rock reverberates off the walls in the room, as long instrumental interludes and recorded samples from film and radio broadcasts are dispersed throughout their set. The five band members keep their eyes down out of necessity for the most part, but it feels like a less engaging show as a result.

Thankfully, headliners Camp Cope are the complete opposite. Lead singer Georgia Maq is quick to invite all the women in the crowd to the front, as the trio launch into Done. It's the opening song from their debut self-titled album, and sees fans rushing to the stage. Bass player Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich is making her guitar sing, while Sarah Thompson's drumming ties everything together.

Flesh And Electricity and Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams follow, as Maq's voice sounds even more visceral than it does on record. She's haemorrhaged her vocal chords and cancelled the rest of the band's shows for the month, but you would have no idea watching tonight, as she dives into a new song about leg hair, about which there should be plenty more songs written. 

There's a group of young men near the front of the crowd whose excitement levels exceed their abilities to exercise self-control, and Maq pauses between songs to ensure they chill out. We hear West Side Story and Trepidation before album highlights Stove Lighter and Lost (Season One) close out the set. However, the band are summoned back to the stage for an enthusiastic encore. They play an unreleased song, as Maq leaves us with the lyrics, "I've still got a lot of problems, and one of them is you; and I'm fine with that."