Live Review: Every Time I Die, Touche Amore, Statues

So strong was the pull of Wednesday night’s billing that the line outside Amps stretched right down the alley way and into the street at least ten minutes before doors.

As such, conditions were perfect for Statues, who were welcomed by a healthy crowd and used their short set to warm themselves up for their national tour in support of their debut album, kicking off that weekend.

The local lads put on a frenzied performance, with vocalist Jayme Van Keulen and guitarist Scott Kay regularly throwing themselves into the crowd and charging through as they played. Amidst the chaos, a real highlight was when Keulen worked the audience into a clap-beat and sang solo for the very gospel-sounding I Want Peace. It was a brilliant opening performance and they’re gonna kill it over east.

The venue packed itself out as Touche Amore took to the stage, and they brought a whole different sense of energy to the stage.

From the opening track Amends, frontman Jeremy Bolm was happy to hold the mic out to the crowd and encourage them to sing along, obviously stoked with what was received. Things got personal when he confessed it was the band’s first time on stage since Halloween of last year when Bolm was told he had lost his mum, and both band and audience put in everything they could over the next few songs in what was a solid display on camaraderie and passion, a real highlight for the evening.

The whole vibe changed when Every Time I Die lumbered up onto the stage. The room felt heavier and the crowd rowdier. It was only exemplified through vocalist Keith Buckley exclaiming, “This is not a spectator sport, come up here and jump on your friends.” People took that as an invitation for the rest of the evening to clamber up on stage and propel themselves off, and everyone loved it.

Playing the opening lines into Bored Stiff, Buckley again hyped up the crowd – “This song requires a circle pit, it’s hot and heavy in here, I wanna see you guys working” – and the frenzy of people throwing themselves around continued through Roman Holiday, Typical Miracle and the surging No Son Of Mine. The band closed quite abruptly with Moor, a piano-driven track from their new album that builds wonderfully into intense guitar riffs and vocals, before a quick thank you saw them disappear from stage. It was a balmy evening, and fans were certainly made to work for it, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. A high energy and high quality performance by all.