Shihad @ Live On Light Square,Adelaide (21/06/08)

Mon 23rd Jun, 2008 in Gig Reviews

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Shihad are renowned for their kick ass, in your face live shows and they did not disappoint as the boys played their final concert for what was The Beautiful Machine Australian tour.

Unlike other concerts where the support acts are just mediocre, Calling All Cars and Young & Restless held their own with captivating and engaging performances. When CAC lead singer Haydn Ing wasn’t getting the reaction he wanted from the crowd he took his microphone and stormed onto the almost bare dancefloor and started singing there. If the audience wasn’t game enough to come closer to the stage then he was determined to come to them.

The Young & Restless’ quirky frontwoman Karina Utomo strutted her stuff in a white vinyl miniskirt with plenty of frills, a black singlet top and neon yellow tights, definitely the fashion statement of the night. Her clothing style seems to fit perfectly with the music the band plays as it too is unusual and will not appeal to everyone. Utomo also possesses an impressive set of lungs that enables her to growl and roar, giving Jon Toogood a run for his money.

Then low and behold as the lights dimed and the more reserved fans got to there feet, the members of Shihad walked onto the stage to find an ecstatic audience waiting for them. Toogood waved and smiled at his devoted fans before getting into One Will Hear The Other off their latest CD.

The band seemed genuinely thrilled by the crowd’s response with Toogood repeatedly saying “Cheers” and “Thanks for sticking by us”. Bassist Karl Kippenberger was unable to wipe a cheeky smile off his face the entire night as he paced around the stage. Drummer Tom Larkin had a go at one of the sound engineers when they failed to plug in Toogood’s guitar, and Phil Knight thrashed away at his guitar while having one foot firmly planted on the speakers in front of him. All this made for a very riveting gig.

Shihad made sure that they played songs off all of their albums from The General Electric to Pacifier and beyond. Songs like My Minds Sedate and Comfort Me saw the crowd erupt into a frenzy with the mosh pit turning into a whirlpool that proved quite difficult for people to get out of.

The absolute pinnacle of the show was when Toogood climbed up a massive stack of speakers. First, he managed to get his microphone up on top of them, and then he was adamant that he too could defy gravity and conquer the speakers. With the help of one of the sound engineers Toogood did get on top of the stacks, almost hitting his head on some lights in the process. Showing courage under fire he then continued to flog his guitar and sing with mad precision while the speakers wobbled and swayed beneath him.

Just when you thought the night couldn’t possibly get any more spectacular, fans were given the opportunity to meet the gracious band as they hung out at the merchandise area after the show.

Its not very often that three talented bands are packed into one night of entertainment, which made Saturday night even more explosive. Your loss if you failed to attend.

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