Live Review: Breaking Orbit, Bellusira, Neotokyo, We Without

The night began with a high-energy performance from We Without, a four-piece psychedelic alternative rock group, which saw lead singer Chad pumping up the audience by jumping unnaturally high into the air. This was followed by a set from Neotokyo, a progressive hard rock band hailing from Sydney, who made the unfortunate announcement that they will be taking some time off from touring to work on new material. It was touch and go for Bellusira from the start. Lead vocalist Crystal Ignite was battling a throat infection and ended up admitting that she was, “freaking out upstairs that I was going to have to cancel the first show in ten years!” The fear, however, was misplaced, with the front woman delivering a smashing performance that had the entire crowd going nuts. Ignite won over the audience when, opening her set, struggling to even speak, she instead yelled “let's just rock the fuck out, I'm gonna scream my tits off, so let's go!”.

Breaking Orbit were here to spruik their latest album, The Time Traveller, which proved a captivating mix of eclectic sounds, driving polyrhythm's, euphoric vocal melodies, tribal drum beats and heavy grooves. The idea behind the album was to transport the listener between the realms of time and space. Opener, Echoes, did just that, creating a sort of peace amongst the crowd with its daunting beats and the use of lighting and effects with a heavy bass line, soaring guitar and precision drumming creating an almost euphoric feel. The group proclaim their MO is to close the gap between alternative and progressive rock, and they managed to master that, along with showcasing hints of other rock brilliance. Keep your eyes peeled 'cause Breaking Orbit are some powerful newcomers to watch.