Blacklisted

Tue 8th Jul, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Californian screamo band, Blacklisted aimed to please all ages with their early open gig at Perth’s own HeadQuarters complex, a popular and usually friendly association to provide the Perth youngins’ a bit of taste when it comes to local and international music scene. Excited fans poured in and out of the venue between local acts, pausing for cigarette breaks and socializing for 10 or so minutes each time before gathering inside for the next act. It was surprising to see such a number of local music gig fans leave before the headline, but no one questioned their antics. The kids looked pumped, the security looked tired—the combination deemed unpleasant but everybody survived.

The second Blacklisted made their arrival, the pit spilt in half and moshers created a circle pit upon first string. Limbs flying and nose diving left right and centre gave every female an extra reason to step backwards towards the back of the tiny room. The vocalist had decided to perform barefooted, likely because he could have a better grip on the tiny stage as he leant across into the crowd, risking being grabbed and tackled by members of the audience, desperate for a shot on the mirco-phone clutched between his fingers.

Everything was intense, from start to finish, and it was likely that a lot of people were hurt, owing, particularly to the lack of control the crowd had going. It proved to be impossible to get to the front of the stage without being smashed in the face with somebodies flailing arm. If there had been at least a couple of security staff hanging side-stage it might have made the experience more enjoyable, with perhaps less bloodied noses, particularly for the vastly outnumbered female fans.

It’s also a shame that the crowd didn’t have a little more maturity when it came to tolerating others amongst them, and focus instead on the actual performance, instead of abusing one another.

Overall however, the off-beats and loud screams kept everyone on a high throughout the night, leaving fans breathless and stand-bys foot tapping, even if the night was ruined by such terrible crowd. Hopefully this was an isolated experience, and next time we will see an improvement from both HQ staff and Perth’s underaged moshers.