Just two days shy of the official release of their debut album, Microscopic Wars, Melbourne rockers Kingswood kicked off their national tour at Adelaide’s own Pirie & co. Social Club. The boys were joined by fellow Melbournites, The Sinking Teeth, starting off the evening with their punk rock sound, it was perhaps not quite the mellow opener most punters were expecting. Confused looks were exchanged by those in the crowd early on, but nonetheless, as the drinks started flowing and the set continued, everyone in the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.

After a short break between sets, the band everyone was there to see, took to the small, dimly backlit stage. Kicking off their lengthy set with All Too Much, Kingswood battled with technical issues right from the beginning. The boys pushed through, despite being barely seen or heard by punters at the back of the venue. Crowd members called from the room “we can’t hear you” and even took to a mic at one stage to tell the sound guy to turn frontman Fergus Linacre’s mic up. Stopping to rectify the issue between songs to no avail, the guys took the time to chat with some punters in the front row, inviting them up onto the stage to dance during the next song, a self proclaimed “sexy, sexy song” I Can Feel That You Don’t Love Me. Pushing through the set, they played hits from earlier releases, including She’s My Baby, and Yeah Go Die. Although the band was set to play to a sold out venue, the crowd slightly dwindled throughout the night, perhaps due to the ongoing sound issues, being tired after a long workday, or simply feeling that the set, verging on an hour and a half went almost too long. However, the punters that remained at the end of the night turned it up a notch for crowd favourite, and the song to close out the evening, Ohio, chanting along in the chorus and verses.

Also playing songs from the new, much anticipated album, the direction in which Kingswood is headed has taken a slight turn, away from the sound of the band’s Queens Of The Stone Age-esque earlier releases. Taking on a new sound and all-round vibe, Microscopic Wars will certainly live up to expectations, with a killer live show to match, unfortunately let down on the opening leg of the tour by sound issues.