Shihad, Gyroscope, Dead LetterCircus, Using Three Words,Tonk @ ANU Refectory(21/02/2008)

Sun 24th Feb, 2008 in Gig Reviews

The crowd had to persevere at the Australian National University (ANU) Refectory in order to reap the rewards of a thoroughly strong set that ended Thursday night 21 February in Canberra. With an extended line-up including Shihad, Gyroscope, Dead Letter Circus, Using Three Words and Tonk this was going to be a long night, but those who persevered to the end got their money’s worth.

Shihad rocked the ANU Refectory with their music. The four-piece clearly made the night for Canberra’s heavy rock aficionados, who had gathered at the venue and waited – largely quietly – through the earlier bands.

Shihad played a set so tight, strong and focused, that it felt like they had only just stormed the stage when they marched off to cheers. With plenty of stage presence the New Zealand band, based in Melbourne, demonstrated their status as veterans of the Australian music scene. Banter by front-man Jon Toogood served to hype the crowd further as the band kept their audience on target to rock out the venue. The band took the crowd through an intense mosh-ride with their heavy-weight repertoire – too much for some who staggered out thoroughly disrobed – and they kept the large mosh boiling from start to finish.

Gyroscope also had the venue rocking. Daniel Sanders and the band had the crowd thoroughly into the night with Fast Girl obviously a crowd favourite. A well paced set kept the crowd engaged and judging by the enthusiasm there is anticipation for their next album.

Dead Letter Circus clearly had a following amongst the crowd; with a small mosh happening within the Refectory. But, the vocals often went missing, leaving the music to carry the show. Thankfully they had a quality sound. Despite the disappearing vocals the band’s lead Kim Benzie did engage the audience getting them to accompany him in song and moving across the stage to ensure he engaged with everyone he could.

Using Three Words never really carried the crowd. Playing a wandering set their front man engaged in banter that would find a more successful home, along with them, in a smaller and more local audience. Unfortunately for Using Three Words the crowd was vocally there for Shihad and had little tolerance for their lack of stage presence and weak performance. Still a small appreciative group did take the opportunity to have fun and there were enough people willing to hold Dan O’Day for about 30 seconds before he hit the ground.

Tonk were a revelation, if we are on the eve of 1991 becoming retro then this band is in the vanguard of upcoming metal retro. The band played a satisfying set, the crowd enjoying them and if not jumping around at least tapping their toes or lifting their legs. With some strong homage to Guns’n’Roses going on this band had more than a few potential devotees with bandannas aplenty.

But Shihad made this night, with their presence, stage-craft and finely tuned set, the crowd at the ANU Refectory had a memorable night and the band has no doubt won new fans.