Live Review: World's End Press, Ben Browning

13 July 2012 | 9:29 am | Shayen De Silva

The infectiously fun and energetic World's End Press are definitely a band worth checking out! If someone had wandered into the venue not knowing who the band was, they would have left with a big grin on their face and exhaustion from excessive dancing.

Supporting band Ben Browning took it upon themselves to get the party going, the three-piece delivering some funky tunes and the crowd matching that energy with some impressive moves on the dance floor.

As the atmosphere built, you could tell things were about to get freaky. One guy was even wearing a poncho straight out of a Clint Eastwood movie. After sound checks were done, the band members took the stage one by one building the music. Remember the roar of the crowd in Gladiator? World's End Press received that same reception, and then some. An impressive response for an up and coming Melbourne band.

The band kept the energy going, twisting and bopping never missing a beat. The relationship between the band and the audience was like that of a snake charmer and snake. World's End Press played to a very loose crowd, who swayed this way and that, bending double time to the music. Despite some initial sound problems and a very slippery stage, the band were pretty tight and showed the mark of true professionals tearing through some killer songs like Golden Child, Only The Brave and Faithful. Props to frontman John Parkinson whose vocals were pitch perfect amidst his constant thrashing around on stage – particularly on West End Girls, as the pitch changes between verse and chorus could have proved troublesome in a live setting, but which he easily mastered.

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He didn't neglect the fans either, and took the opportunity to embrace the intimacy, as he jumped from the stage and began dancing and singing with the audience.  After finishing their set with a scorching version of recent single Second Day Uptown the crowd refused to let them go, chanting “one more tune!”, to which the band could not resist and came back on stage with a fantastic new song from their upcoming album. Parkinson remarked he wasn't sure if they could pull the song off, but his fears were alleviated as the crowd obliged once more and continued to get their groove on.