The presence of diversity made for an entertaining evening at the Metro Theatre, be it exhibitionists proudly lassoing their sweaty shirts, the blindsighted raising their sticks in unison, the older folks putting in their ear plugs for added comfort or lapping up next to the majority of the ludicrously loud young’uns and watching them crowd-surf, mosh, initiate piggybacks and leave all gig etiquette out the door.
Initially, the crowd was certainly not expecting the explosive entrance that emerged from ex-Red Riders duo, Palms. Al Grigg and Tom Wallace made quite the impression from the get-go, aided by a charismatic comedian in Al when he introduced the bleeding obvious meaning behind song titles. The first one included the delightful “Don’t Be Ashamed,” which brought out the movers and shakers and the pair kept the momentum flowing with each following number. Ending the set with an untitled, yet-to-be-named track gave an amplified, yet anticipated dalliance for what was next to transpire for the twosome in the near future.
Recent success story, Deep Sea Arcade, was astonishingly abundant in awe-inspiring moments as ‘60s psychedelic rock persistently plagued the venue. Kicking things off with “Seen No Right” made for an upbeat introduction worthy of approval head-nodding. Firm fan favourite, “Lonely In Your Arms” proved to be an endearing surf-rock tune that prompted the biggest round of applause so far. However, the biggest highlight came late into the set as “Outlands” blasted through with blissful guitar riffs that sent us all into a frenzied condition as the crescendo came to an abrupt halt, therefore concluding their time on stage.
Progressive jammers, Children Collide, struck a chord with their fans as they vocalised their lyrical abilities in “My Eagle” and sing-a-long saviour of the set, “Farewell Rocketship.” Lead singer, Johnny Mackay, commandeered the crowd in a captivating fashion as upcoming singles from their forthcoming release, Monument, were materialised in “Cherries” and “Sword to a Gunfight” with the latter proving to be a feat as the mob were very much into the new sounds. The would-be encore of “Jellylegs” sent the masses into a state of hysteria, to the extent of a white top travelling towards the stage, along with a brazen young man, who was quickly escorted off stage by security, to which Johnny retorted, “Ladies and gentlemen, my removalists!” provoking a reaction from the appreciative crowd.
On a final unfortunate note, it is drummer Ryan Caesar’s last tour before leaving the band, so it was only fitting that he showed his gratitude by briefly sticking around longer on stage to thank his supporters before making a hasty disappearing act. Fortunately for us, some of the crazies followed the same fate.
Setlist:
1. Chosen Armies
2. Across the Earth
3. Skeleton Dance
4. We Live in Fear
5. My Eagle
6. Cherries
7. Sword to a Gunfight
8. Farewell Rocketship
9. Loveless
10. Speed of Sound
11. Social Currency
12. Jellylegs
13. Outro
