Maybe because it was hump day, or because it was a school night, or because a “generous” ticket price was rather distracting, but it was relatively easy to feel sympathetic towards Sydney’s melodic hardcore sons Hellions.

There was visibly more space than people, but that didn’t detract the fun-loving gentlemen from having a blast. Kicking off with arguably the best Australian hardcore single released this year, Hellions, with an absolutely riveting drum interlude, it was clear from the outset Hellions were here for gratification and mostly for themselves as it’s their best reward. Die Young brought some more enthusiasm from the audience and the rest of Hellions to their knees, literally. Creasy i) Styrofoam Lungs had vocalist Dre Faivre in full flight with his odd flailing, hip-shaking and bouncing, ungainly body moving in excellent involuntary fashion, as he’s reputed for. Lie and Nottingham were sadly met with a struggling backing vocal mix, but the band still maintained their momentum. The Great Fabricator was the win of the set, with mosh enthusiasts beginning to show their colours and the band full of hardcore jumps and spins. To close, 23, although a fun song, was probably not the best choice. Still the crowd had grown and were attentive to the New South Welshmen, which is what they’d strived for. With award nominations heading Hellions way, it’s just a matter of time before they’re a class well above an opening act. 

Canberra’s Hands Like Houses had the task of main support for the tour. It was hard to fault the wall of sound that the band emitted, and the soaring vocals of Woodley; they were near production perfection to baffling effect. The absence of keyboardist Jamal Sabet was noted, but the backing-track the five-piece utilised was as valuable. Introduced Species quickly garnered the attention of the much larger audience, mostly female, but there was an impressive presence of the other sex jumping around and even crowd-surfing. Developments, Wisteria, Lion Skin, A Tale Of Outer Suburbia, Shapeshifters and I Am (the heaviest and best song of the performance) made up the set-list, however in all honesty, as professional as these five gentlemen are, it just does not meld with this writer. It could be the excessive theatrics, maybe even the questionable dance moves (notably by bassist Joel Tyrrell), but personally, something doesn’t sit as “special” with Hands Like Houses, though their talent can’t be argued.

What’s the best way to introduce a band to a willing and impressively sized audience? The UK’s Enter Shikari may have found it. A ten-minute countdown instructional audio track featuring some of the most peculiar dance pop songs known to the Western world was the marching beat to their drum. True to the countdown’s function, the quartet emerged with an imposing blinding light show to boot, exploding into The Appeal & The Mindsweep I. Vocalist/DJ/crazed political party zealot Rou Reynolds transformed from serenading to a hip hop MC to a manic hardcore vocalist, throwing his mic stand carelessly in the air in the space of milliseconds, and it was mesmerising. Understandably this translated to everyone around him, the attendees for sure, but even more-so bassist Chris Batten, who decided during second song, Destabilise, that the barrier separating the stage from the audience should be used as a climbing implement, not a safety precaution. The onslaught continued: Gandhi Mate, Gandhi saw Batten crowd-surfing, The Last Garrison was mashed up superbly leading into Juggernauts, which led into the atmospheric hip hop meets hardcore Never Let Go Of The Microscope. Unbelievably this was still just the beginning, even though the four-piece needed a break themselves at this point. Myopia was given a mash-up treatment but then new single Torn Apart saw Reynolds pick up a guitar and slow things down, slightly. The Paddington Frisk had half the band amongst the audience again, having the eager attendees crowd-surf around guitarist Liam “Rory” Clewlow and bassist Chris Batten (again). This actually carried over into Mothership, where Rory remained matter-of-factly lost in the audience. Anaesthetist was the “false” closing song, but because of Adelaide’s sung demand “Still we will be here, standing like statues,” the four Brits were back for four more. Constellations was an unnecessary ballad, but Shikari probably needed the rest, as the intensity raised to literally the roof for the last three songs – Solidarity, Slipshod and of course the essential Sssnakepit – and the exhaustion but contentment could be felt by the entire venue at its conclusion. Enter Shikari may not be everyone’s “cup of tea” per se, however, bearing true allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, they put on one very memorable show.