Live Review: Dead Letter Circus, Guards Of May, Graphic Characters

Local trio Graphic Characters were an appropriate opener for the evening. They certainly packed some punch into their catchy guitar riffs, but in retrospect probably didn't have as much depth as the following bands. The shake up towards the end of the set with a slower tune was welcoming and the songwriting was impressive — they'll have definitely scored some new fans after that performance.

Guards Of May caught a lot of people off guard when they mentioned a couple of songs into their set that they'd only just released their debut album. The prog-rock five-piece's live sound was wonderfully polished and vocalist Richo Harvey had a set of pipes on him that — dare it be said — rivalled the likes of the headlining band's counterpart. Without an instrument in hand, he was able to strut around the stage as he belted out the higher notes, complemented wonderfully by some on point vocal harmonies, and while the crowd had taken a while to get into the swing of the evening early on, by the end of the set there was hands in the air and people were mustering their best cheers. Big ups to the headliners for bringing them out from Brisbane.

It had been a while since Dead Letter Circus had played Metropolis, their last few shows being performed mostly at the Rosemount. It was exciting to see them back in the bigger space, however it was a little strange to look around and realise the room wasn't completely heaving with people — must've been something to do with the 35,000-odd people flying over east for the footy. Regardless, the boys launched into their Aesthesis tour set aptly and full of energy, performing new tracks In Plain Sight and While You Wait. "How many of you have our new album?" vocalist Kim Benzie asked to a roar. "You're all fucking legends," he exclaimed, before the band launched into fan favourites The Space On The Wall, Reaction, and the explosive Next In Line, all from the band's debut album. I Am, the lead single from the band's last album got a look in, before YANA (You Are Not Alone), again from the new album, saw a welcome shift in tempo, Benzie slowing things down on the mic and dragging out some of those beautiful vocal tones, before One Step once again saw everybody with hands in the air, screaming along the words. After sneaking in a few more tracks including The Veil and another newie Change The Concept, Benzie and the guitarists left the stage to Luke Williams for a few minutes, who unleashed a furious solo display on the drums. The rest of the band returned to the stage, beers in hand, to play one more song, and it was only best they pick one from the only record left untouched until that point in the evening; a track named The Mile, from their first EP. It was a climax of an ending for a band who do it all too well, and it's obvious from the sheer amount of energy and passion in their performances that they well and truly live for performing on stage.