Live Review: After The Fall, Mere Theory, Harbour

Some guys look like they got into music so they could walk around in cowboy boots and talk about how they're in a band. Other guys just hang out in their mates' garages and play music. Then they start playing gigs here and there and suddenly they have an album out and being in a band is part of who they are.

Harbourer definitely belong in the second category. But though they may have looked like they'd just come straight from a rehearsal, their big wall of sound had a lot of strength behind it. They were a tight unit, crafting intriguing tunes but with hints of lighter melodies threading through the heavier rock.

Adelaide four-piece Mere Theory are using this After The Fall tour as their farewell. Always under-appreciated on the east coast, the quartet's melodic rock made the most of guitarist Nigel Black's incredibly skilled fretwork and frontman Chris Mellow's crystal clear vocals.

With a new album, Bittersweet, seeing a return to the punchy, efficient rock of their early days, After The Fall were sure to drop a couple of new songs into the set, including the album's title track and a charged-up Same Old Thing. At the front, singer Ben Windsor worked the stage, constantly making a connection with the closest dedicated fans. Though the new songs went over well, old favourites such as Concrete Boots and Sunshine Showers really lifted the energy in the room and Windsor had to placate a fan who loudly requested Mirror Mirror a couple of songs early.

While After The Fall have always known how to write crunchy rock, their real talent lies in the light pop hooks that turn their songs into infectious choruses. The gorgeous pop sheen that was layered over The Fighter was testament to their talent to reproduce that perfect balance between grunt and glimmer live.

Sure Harbourer played music that was a little louder and a little coarser than the headliners, but for all three bands on this bill, music has never been a fashion accessory. It's something you play with your mates because you couldn't imagine doing anything else.