British India, Kill Teen Angst& The Supervillains @ NewportHotel, Fremantle (4/11/2007)

Thu 8th Nov, 2007 in Gig Reviews

The evening started with a very poor showing for the first act, The Supervillains, with less than 10 bodies languidly occupying the dancefloor of the Newport. Usually, you’d think this wouldn’t bode well for the later support/s and headliners, but bearing in mind that this band was a) not very impressive and b) not very well known; expectations of a great night were still in play. Having said that, there’s some potential oozing out of this band, so hopefully they scrub up and have better luck with the crowd in their next support slot.

Kill Teen Angst found themselves playing to a little over 20 punters by 7.30pm. No matter, the punk-sounding but self-proclaimed indie/rock/pop quartet still gave it their best shot, giving a fairly lively performance. To anyone not familiar with the band, their vocal stylings are of the joyously noisy, bellowing variety, a la The Bouncing Souls. Unfortunately, this quality combined with the sound mix at The Newport made for pretty incomprehensible vocals. Nevertheless, the set of eight songs was enough to please the small crowd, and there’s definitely something to look forward to when KTA release a full-length album, especially since the boys just picked up the WAM Rock Song of the Year Award 2007 for The World or Nothing.

Considering British India took the stage of the Newport almost right after an all-ages gig at the Fly by Night, their energy level was, quite frankly jaw-dropping. Diminutive vocalist Declan Melia was a sight to behold, giving the likes of Pelle Almqvist and Angus Young a run for their money in terms of stage antics and presence. The Melbournian quartet showed no signs of fatigue from the afternoon show as they charged through the first half of the set, showcasing new material from their debut album, Guillotine, and some old LP favourites.

Powering straight through Automatic Pulse, Outside 109, and recent single Run the Red Light, the lads slowed down long enough to crank out a beautifully gentle song, with Melia mockingly (or perhaps not?) dubbing it Funeral for a Trend. References to that particular brand of alternative rock continued with Council Flat, which saw Melia strip the microphone from its stand and begin to entangle his forearms in the cord while dancing like a lunatic and hollering the vocals louder and with more energy than ever (Adam Lazzara, anyone?).

Stomping and prancing all over the stage while churning out Guillotine, crowd favourite and frequently JTV-nominated Tie Up My Hands, and Russian Roulette, the boys ended the second half of their set with a greater intensity than the first, with the crowd finally warming up and getting involved in the performance. One dude created his own hand movements for the chorus of Tie Up My Hands, which was almost endearing. Almost.

A two-song encore followed a short burst of chanting from the crowd, with Black & White Radio rounding off the gig to perfection. It’s no wonder British India are so popular these days, as their live gigs are so full of frantic energy and entertaining skylarking from Melia and co. But stage antics are just gravy when the band sounds so good. Definitely earning their reputation as a band to watch, the boys finish up their flood of dates in Perth this weekend, so catch them while you can.