The punters were lined up nice and early at the front of Club Capitol on this night to make sure they got the best view for the impressive lineup as Kisschasy ’s national tour arrived in Perth.
Opening act In Fiction wasted no time grabbing the attention of everyone in the room as they began their energetic stage show. It was obvious these Adelaide boys had a quite a few fans in the crowd as they sang along to the band’s fine tunes. Gaining a lot of interest lately with the release of their first official video clip for If You’re Up Late and touring endlessly over the past year, it’s not hard to see why these guys have achieved such popularity after being together for only two short years. Lead singer Brad Gilbertson struck a note or two with the ladies with one of their older songs Calendar Notes singing “I can feel your heart, pulsating through your hands, your hands…” and with both guitarists jumping around and doing air splits, it was quite a sight to see, even if the mix did no justice to Gilbertson’s vocals. In Fiction finished off their set nicely with When the Camera’s Off from their latest EP Ghost.
Next up were Perth boys The Dirty Secrets kicking off with their new single My Heart is On Fire, due for release later this month. Their distinct brand of indie-electronica was enough to get the crowd going in a head-nodding, almost dancing kind of way but as far as a stage show goes it was pretty hard to outdo the band that preceded them. Tracks like Best Friend and Five Feet of Snow proved to be crowd favourites of the night with chest pounding beats and quirky vocals by Jarrah McCleary (lead vocals and keys) to match.
And then, after the 20-odd minute buffer zone, frontman Darren Cordeux appeared from the dark stage standing in front of a dim light serving up a Black Dress solo as an appetiser, serenading all the women in the room (and some of the men) with endearing lyrics and acoustic guitar in his arms. Then, after disappearing into the dark again, the light show began displaying the giant banner behind the stage displaying the words ‘Hymns for the Nonbeliever’ as the Kisschasy boys emerged from the darkness. Opening with the appropriately named The Perfect Way to Meet, the crowd was more than elated to bare witness to such an explosive energy and stunning light show to complement.
With a generous mix of songs from both albums it was clear to see how much this band has grown since debut album United Paper People – with their current album being more rock based and a little less reserved. The passion these boys had for the music was apparent in their efforts and, only five songs in, everyone in the front row was getting a decent spraying of sweat from Cordeux’s head banging.
Guitarist Sean Thomas was also quite the showman that night, leaving off the side of the stage halfway through Spray on Pants to climb up the side of the mixing desk, grabbing someone’s bottle of Smirnoff, taking a swig and then proceeded to play his guitar with the bottle, leaving the mob indecisive as to where to keep their eyes. And if that wasn’t enough, Thomas then sprayed the punters with the booze in the most glorious rockstar fashion possible.
The trouble with playing so close to the crowd, though, was the occasional random running on stage and yelling into the microphone to the crowd “lick my balls!” and the inevitable response random yelling “lick MY balls!” Oh, how fools seldom differ. Not that Kisschasy minded though. These fun-loving guys just laughed it off with a confused “Who the fuck was that guy?” chuckle.
They ended their set with their latest high-powered single Opinions Won’t Keep You Warm at Night, which is currently getting continuous airplay around the country and the crowd couldn’t get enough. When they came out for the encore Do-Do’s and Woah-Oh’s, Cordeux reciprocated the love by telling the crowd that wherever he goes he says Perth is one of his favourite places to play: “You have beautiful people, beautiful land and you don’t give a fuck!” Not really knowing what that meant exactly, the masses cheered anyway. For anyone that went that night, there’s a good chance you won’t be forgetting it for a while.
