Shitty weather aside, the night was looking good from the outset. A solid crowd had gone through the doors early and there was a good vibe throughout the venue.
Kicking off proceedings was The Scissor File, a band who I've never really been impressed by... and tonight definitely wasn't going to change my mind. According to their MySpace page, the band has created a sound "entirely its own" but all I heard was another pop-rock band peddling the same old, same old.
Closure In Moscow hit the stage and commanded the crowd's attention from the first note. To the uninitiated, CIM take the soaring, falsetto vocals of bands like Circa Survive and couple it with effects laden, borderline psychedelic rock.
It still amazes me that Closure are such a young band (average age of 20), because their tight live performance and song writing is something you'd expect to hear from seasoned veterans, not a band who've been together for less than 12 months! Expect to hear big things from these kids.
Responder have landed themselves on a lot of great shows lately, but based off tonight's performance I'm not exactly sure why.
There's nothing bad about Responder, it's just that they seem to be missing something. There are some good riffs and they are undoubtedly talented musicians but their songs seem to go through the motions without really making an impression on the listener. Having said that, their vocalist has a great voice (think early Boysetsfire or maybe a slightly cleaner Hot Water Music) which I feel could be better utilized over more upbeat music.
Horsell Common's Satellite Wonderland EP came out 6 months ago, and the guys seemed pretty amped to be playing a headline Melbourne launch show.
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All the usual ingredients were there for a great HC set. Leigh's drumming was nothing short of amazing, Cripps was busy rocking the fuck out and Stu's voice sounded awesome. The crowd were treated to a healthy of mix of old and new, with songs being playing from "Lost A Lot Of Blood", the "Trial Kennedy" split and "Satellite Wonderland". As well as the band's recorded output getting a spin, HC treated the crowd to no less than 3 new tracks - all of which (so we're told) will be making an appearance on the band's debut full length, which is set for release in September/October.
It's evident that the band has spent a lot of time on the road over the last 12 months as their live show rivals that of any other rock band currently kicking around Australia.
On the strength of the new material we heard tonight, HC's album is going to be something special. If you're not already on the bandwagon, what are you waiting for!?!?!
