Psych, ‘gaze and more wall of noise descriptions, and no room to move as well. That’s all I thought about at this gig really. I mean I shouldn’t be surprised. This whole night screamed guitar noises from the rooftop. The Sun Blindness were the band to slide into one of those moody sets full of sound and looks from band members like they seen something flashy in the corner of the room. The music was wilting, and this touch of delicate sounds were juxtaposed with some moments of jagged music freak out.
Parading stepped it up a notch drowning the crowd of even more ‘gaze and sound, fuzzing around like nobody’s business. The band delved into more dark and broody territory with stabs of feedback here and there. It seemed like they didn’t give a crap that the PA was going to blown out ten metres forward, which may have been their aim. I may need to expand my gig palette a bit, but this was one of the most abrasive and harsh sounding live sets I’ve heard in a long time. While Parading was giving us this assault of music, the crowd grew more in numbers gradually, eventually to extreme levels. I wouldn’t have known what was going to happen when The Laurels were on stage.
All I wanted to is see the band perform, and The Workers Club seemed to not suit the large audience that grew into the room. After getting drinks I manoeuvred between heads and bodies trying to figure out if I would even see the band before the guys began their set. When the band eventually got onto stage, I could only see guitar necks and the occasional flick of the singer’s head. It was that crowded, there were also moments that I was frightened about what body parts of other punters I was feeling. I eventually gave up trying to see what was happening on stage, so I just stood there like a goof, drink in hand and tried to enjoy the noise instead with my head stuck in the jumper of the person sitting next to me.
Despite the issue, the melodies coming from the stage swirled around, harmony glowed through and noodles of guitars scattered itself into the crowd’s ears. I think songs like “Merry Go Round” and “Wandering Star” were actually enjoyable when I couldn’t see anyone on stage, because it made me be in my own element, trying to imagine what was happening. As the set kept on going, I started to not think much more about the gig and thought about how I wanted to just get out of that room. It would have been less frustrating and a much more enjoyable gig if the band played in a larger venue.
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