Live Review: Dead Letter Circus, Like Thieves, Opia

12 June 2014 | 12:29 pm | Kane Sutton

The band rounded out the latter half of their set with five tracks from their new EP which is set for release in August, and after their performance it’s a sure thing they’ll have quite a few more people taking a mental note.

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An early night saw openers Opia take to the stage before 6.30pm as the entree for a three-course prog-fest meal. The locals were essentially a lighter version of the headliners, which suited punters and the evening in general just fine. With only a handful of tickets left at the door, Like Thieves were relentless, taking command of the stage with one of the loudest and most intense portrayals of prog-rock you'll hear: pounding drums, throbbing bass and twangy guitar lines had the diehard fans in ecstasy and those surrounding simply enjoying the build-up of momentum. The band rounded out the latter half of their set with five tracks from their new EP which is set for release in August, and after their performance it's a sure thing they'll have quite a few more people taking a mental note.
After a half-hour break, Dead Letter Circus finally took to the stage, kicking things off with The Space On The Wall, a popular single from their first full-length record. Vocalist Kim Benzie worked with sampling and reverb for most of the set, and while it worked for a number of their newer tracks like Lodestar and I Am, it seemed to take a bit of the edginess away from older tracks, like Cage and The Mile. Regardless, Benzie had the crowd eating out of his hand, and they happily obliged to everything he commanded, whether it was to put in an especially strong moshing effort for a song, or taking over to sing a few lines when he directed the microphone outward. They ended the night with one of the most energetic tracks in their catalogue, Next In Line, which put the icing on the cake of a very enjoyable evening.