Live Review: Branch Arterial, Toehider, Sentia, Tell Amarosa

This is actually a very, very special evening, but we'll get onto that in a moment.  

Acolyte were originally on the bill, but had to withdraw after their bassist broke his wrist a few days out, and Tell Amarosa do a fabulous job of opening after they were given just three days' notice. Their dark, introspective alternative rock eases the growing crowd into the evening's festivities, and their set builds beautifully from relatively quiet beginnings, bassist/vocalist Alistair Kidd's vocals rising sweetly above the instrumental atmospherics.

Sentia play a similar style of dark alt rock, but with slightly more twists and turns, and syncopated but accessible grooves. The crowd is well on its way to the close-to-capacity throng it ultimately became by around halfway through their set, and Sentia's intricately intertwined guitar lines and highly engaging four-way vocals maintain its interest for every moment of their short but powerful set. They treat us to a brand new tune, a bluesy, atmospheric pieces with liberal use of electronic drum pads.  

Toehider are a world-class but heavily underrated progressive power three-piece. There is a reason that the legendary Dutch genius Arjen Lucassen requests main man Mike Mills to guest on his illustrious Ayreon project's albums, as Mills' vocals, instrumental prowess and songwriting talent are off the charts. His own band Toehider slam out frenetic but fun prog rock with those vocals soaring majestically over the top. Imagine '80s cheese-metal operatic vocals, but done with absolute class and in a more interesting musical setting. The vocals are so very confident, and the band so dextrous, that they attempt to cover what would have to be one of the most difficult songs in the rock'n'roll canon, Soundgarden's Jesus Christ Pose, and pull it off like they were born to play it, like they wrote it.

Elsewhere, their own songs are just so much fun (especially the effortlessly cool Whatever Makes You Feel Superior), about as much fun as prog rock can be, and both the band and the almost-capacity crowd are left with the broadest possible smiles on their faces. Toehider are yet another Aussie progressive band who should be bigger than they are, and would be if they hailed from Europe or the States.  

Such hardship has befallen Melbourne-based heavy prog act Branch Arterial in the last few years that they very nearly didn't make it to this point. But, listening to their brand new and long-awaited debut album Beyond The Border, and seeing them live this night, their first show for more than two years, it is absolutely apparent that tough times have ultimately united and galvanised the band, and given them great motivation to continue.  

Their set tonight consists of virtually every track from the superb new album, nothing from their earlier releases, plus they also paid tribute to the fallen rock god Chris Cornell, with their spanking version of Audioslave's Shadow On The Sun.  

Not only are this band superb musicians (and special mention must go to drummer Adam Zaffarese, whose thunderous playing is underpinned by the sheer sweetness with which he pounds the skins, and frontman Nigel Jackson, who is really feeling it tonight), they also know how to rock, and rock hard. The set is instrumental wizardry and heavy-hitting rock histrionics in equal measure.

So many congratulations to Branch Arterial for overcoming adversity and rocking on, and much kudos to the support card for warming things up on a frigid Melbourne evening.