Live Review: Gyroscope

The Indi Bar's usual Thursday open mic night was thrown into chaos when Gyroscope announced they would be gatecrashing for a last-minute, and somewhat secret, show. It had been a while since Gyro fans had their fix, and with door sales only $5, the narrow streets surrounding the venue were flooded with cars, and the intimate confines within hit capacity in no time. With drummer Rob Nassif currently residing overseas and only visiting his hometown for a couple of weeks, fans didn't want to miss out on what could be their last opportunity to see the band for a while.

Pushing their way through the tightly knit crowd and onto stage to the sounds of Midnight Oil's Power And The Passion, Gyroscope spent a few minutes casually setting up gear. One of the best qualities of The Indi Bar is its intimacy, and Gyroscope utilised it to its full extent. Skipping the usual theatrics of an opening track, or fancy lights show, it was a simple “How ya goin'?” from frontman Daniel Sanders that kicked things into motion. After smashing out 1981 and What Do I Know About Pain with no worries, the crowd became somewhat unruly, crushing those up front, and bumping into microphone stands. “Settle the fuck down,” guitarist Zoran Trivic announced, as the band stopped mid song so Sanders and Nassif could leap into the crowd and dissolve the situation. With some hugs and handshakes dealt out, it was back to the rock. “I think I've broken my finger,” bassist Brad Campbell joked. “You broke your finger? I broke my everything,” Trivic laughed, referring to a motorcycle accident he had last year that broke both of his legs.

Doctor Doctor was the perfect tune to throw things back into gear, and the crowd's collective roar in the chorus unsurprisingly overpowered the vocals blasting out of the PA.

Sanders' usual stage acrobatics and liveliness were limited due to the size of the stage, but that didn't stop him from aggressively fist pumping into the ceiling and screaming his lungs out. During Live Without You, he made his first attempt to venture into the crowd, but took the brunt of the crowd's drunkenness, stepping on a bounty of broken glass… barefoot. A true rocker, he didn't let the band stop, and their roadie quickly wrapped a towel around the gushing wound, allowing them to kick onto Fast Girl, Baby, I'm Getting Better, and Snakeskin. Besides some cuts and bruises on the band and a few rowdy punters, gigs don't come much better than this. Hopefully it isn't too long until Nassif becomes homesick again.