Live Review: Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Sleepmakeswaves

Isolated from the hustle and bustle of the industrious city life, situated in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, the Red Hill Auditorium was a different yet excellent location to showcase the progressive rock stylings of the ever-popular local legends Karnivool. Despite the laidback setting, there was certainly a buzz in the air as Sydney's most epic instrumental group in sleepmakeswaves took to the stage and destroyed the serenity in the best way possible, producing a face-melting performance of wonderfully built post-rock music. Crowd members were throwing their heads around or simply gazing in awe, making obvious their deep involvement in the band's outstanding melodies. It seemed a strangely appropriate performance in the setting, with songs containing mountainous climbs, multiple climaxes and devastating crumbles into chaos and destruction. The half-hour set seemed to be over before it began.

In stark contrast, the much more Australian-renowned Dead Letter Circus took the stage as dusk became dark to an eerie ambient-noise intro, the five-piece encouraging the tipsy punters to stream in to the pitted front-of-stage area. Shirtless, vocalist Kim Benzie gave the punters in the pit of the auditorium every reason to thrash about. Older songs from their first EP such as The Mile and Lines garnered the most crowd participation and enthusiasm as Benzie procured all the passion he could into his performance, to good effect. The performance was engaging and set the tone perfectly for the headlining act. 

Karnivool took a little while to set up on stage, but it drew out the suspense brilliantly. Although it's doubtful that anyone in the crowd hadn't seen the group before, the air was still super thick with anticipation. A roar erupted as the band took to the stage, warming us up with the intro to Mannerisms before launching into Goliath. Rhythmic spotlights shone down on the four front members as their hour-and-a-half long set showcased their ever-developing sound; however, it seemed the songs from the Themata era were the ones most strongly received by the adoring crowd. The group left the stage briefly before encoring with Roquefort and New Day in what was a performance containing material that spanned their entire catalogue, inclusive of EPs, and one rife with skill and ability that most Australian rock bands would kill for. It was a privilege to see the band and their supports in such a fantastic venue and all who were there will surely be hoping to have them back soon.