Live Review: Saosin / A Static Lullaby / Closure In Moscow

Live Review by Cameron Chambers

Saosin (USA)

Tuesday May 15^th @ Billboards, Melbourne

With guests: A Static Lullaby (USA) & Closure In Moscow (Vic)

After their cracking set at the "Taste of Chaos" last year, big things were expected fromSaosin's first headlining tour of Australia.  To have Billboards at near capacity on a cold and wet Tuesday night definitely says something about this band's pulling power.

This was the first time I'd been to at the recently renovated Billboards, and I think it's a great place to hold shows. Probably the first venue I've been to in recent memory where you can see the stage from almost anywhere (thank you multi level room lay outs!).

First up were local ladsClosure In Moscowand I think it's safe to say that their nerves definitely played a part in their performance. The first part of their set wasn't as tight as these kids usually are but after a few songs they were able to find their feet and closed out their half hour slot well. There were a lot of people through the doors early so there were plenty of people to catchCIM and I saw more than a few heads nodding in approval.

A Static Lullaby (USA)was next up and didn't fare as well as I have hoped they would. I've been a fan of these guys since they put their debut out on Ferret Records but their sophomore record was terrible. I haven't really had a chance to check out their new S/T record and if tonight's performance was anything to go by I won't be rushing out to purchase it.

Although they were clearly excited to be in Australia (matter of fact, the singer wouldn't shut up about it), their enthusiasm couldn't cover the fact that they played a pretty sloppy set.

My respect goes out to any guitarist who handles a large chunk of his band's vocal parts, however Dan Arnold's clean vocals were flat and struggled to cut through an already average mix. Hopefully it was an off night forASL but more than one punter looked disappointed with their efforts.

That leavesSaosin (USA)to close the night out, and they certainly did an admirable job. The crowd was well and truly excitable within the first 30 seconds of (album opener) "It's Far Better To Learn" but one thing was apparent early on... Cove's vocals just weren't cutting it.

The soaring vocals that are present on everySaosin recording sounded strained. Maybe it was just me, but bass player Chris Sorenson looked less than impressed for the first couple of songs.

As expected the band played a good spread of songs, including "Voices" and "Sleepers" from their S/T album right back to "Translating The Name" and "7 Years" off their original EP. A definite highlight of the evening was one fan's well worded request to hear "Mookie's Last Christmas".

Unfortunately, Saosin suffered through the same poor mix as the other bands on the bill. The guitars were way too low and the sound was almost muffled. This aside, the band did put on a great show but as I mentioned earlier, Cove's singing was average at best. He sounded great during the quieter tracks - such as the epic "You're Not Alone" - however he couldn't maintain the same kind of performance throughout the set.

It'll be interesting to see how Alexisonfire go in the same venue next week - I think that'll give me a better idea of just how severely the poor mix affected the night.