Live Review: Tonight Alive, D At Sea

We opened with D At Sea, a solo acoustic artist from Brisbane, spurting out ambitious covers of well known singalong tracks like Bieber's Love Yourself.

But between D's cheesy motivational speeches, unacknowledged requests to build a circle pit and belated crowd cheers that were on a tightrope between appreciative and expletive, the set failed to gratify the crowd who watched on eagerly as his final song came to a close.  

On to the main course, the roof was lifted as Tonight Alive finally hit the stage and broke out into To Be Free, one of four songs played off their upcoming record. Once again, the sounddesk was on the money, reminiscent of the immaculate sound displays of past Tonight Alive Sydney shows at the Factory Theatre and Roundhouse. The lighting show was second to none despite the annoying lack of backstage illumination that ushered a perpetually faceless appearance from drummer Matt Best throughout the entire show. 

The usual suspects Wasting Away and Listening continued to bolster the mood (if that was even possible), prompting the band to delve deeper into their catalogue. Older fans were treated with Closer as part of a filler drinks break acoustic set that showed off the mischievous and quirky stage antics between Jenna McDougall and lead guitarist Whakaio Taahi. It also featured a new rendition of Breaking And Entering, an appealingly fresh change-up to a song which is nearing the end of its live performance shelf life. The Edge saw a special cameo appearance from Spider Man himself (albeit fatter and more inclined to participate in a round of forceful headbanging). The band proceeded to get their Evanescence on with the synth¬driven single How Does It Feel? and no one even batted an eyelid. The pop-punk energy and rawness that has become a staple of their live shows has not been lost on the band despite their slight sonic and visual departure from their playful roots to all¬black uniforms and mounted keyboards.