Horsell Common dropped by the Nation’s Capital as a part of their soon to be ending Sing The News Tour. The success of their debut album The Rescue has been earning the band some excellent reviews and many fans (as well as more to come). Their old to recent stuff is virtually driving this band right into the limelight.
Last Friday, the good people at the Transit Bar saw an epic show. The night featured a triple shot of punk-rock acts, one each from three of Australia’s finest music loving cities.
Upon entry to the Transit, it was no surprise to see the large crowd already clustered in front of the stage. After a quick head count, the bar wasn’t as full as it felt. One might agree that the vibe was slightly claustrophobic in the way any mosh pit kid would enjoy.
Firing up the crowd was Sydney rock outfit The Mission In Motion. These guys are currently on a tour of their own promoting the release of their new EP titled A Curse, A Calling. Just a heads up, it is one worth getting your hands on. The band was very suited to be playing alongside Horsell both being somewhat similar to each other: sound and style wise.
Up next were our Canberra represents, Lame Excuse. They didn’t have an excuse for getting the crowd out of their seats. The well syncopated drum beats and riffage of guitars had the heads of audience members bopping up and down. During the set, these boys got their ‘ninja’ to hand out some free EPs which everybody reached for.
When Melbourne’s Horsell Common took the stage – you could hear their fans cheer. It was like a banshee scream, it was nuts! The highlights definitely was when the band played their popular single Sing The News.
Singer Mark Stewart stood out like a sore thumb. Not in the painful sense but the way he certainly throbbed an interesting prescence. His voice which seems so much smoother in recordings portrayed a more rough and husky live feel. It was more passionate, meaningful, and true. The gang of boys at the front displayed their loyalty by singing along to almost every song with such passion and angst. Some punters danced notoriously as they clutched their beers swaying left to right. It was amusing as well as great to see this kind of ‘special’ enthusiasm towards the band.
The only let down of the night to this reviewers dismay was the sound and acoustics. The vocals could have been louder. Music was too loud in some points where the singers were unable to be heard especially from the back area of the bar. Perhaps, the soundie shouldn’t be the one to be blamed. Making a comment like this was a hard one, as from prior experiences the soundie has done some incredible shows. Maybe it was just the venue that didn’t suit these bands in particular. Maybe it was just a bad night? That note was just a minor discrepancy.
Either way the crowd didn’t seem to mind – showing all three bands know that they were appreciated and eager for another show. “Horsell, Horsell, Horsell” was cheered quite tunefully. But sadly, the band did not return to the stage for an encore. Maybe next time.
