With it being Grand Final night and all, the Corner Hotel was not filled to the brim as it usually was for Vanishing Point’s farewell gig. To start off the night, Vampora greeted the crowd with speed and ripping guitar solos. Introducing themselves as The Rolling Stones, the band was filled with youthful enthusiasm. It was clear that they were having a ball of a time themselves. With Rob, one of the guitarists, donning a black robe with gold embroidery and Rowan, the bassist, sporting a tight red-and-black striped pants, the surprises never stopped. Chris, vocalist and guitarist, entertained the crowd to no end with his harsh “Shut up!”s and “thank you very much” screams. The technical difficulties the band had didn’t bring their spirits down either.

The female-fronted Divine Ascension was up next. Doll-faced and dressed in a black vintage dress, Jennifer Borg managed to charm the crowd with her sultry glances and her powerful voice. The theatrical and dramatic moves the singer had cast her in the spotlight while the rest of the band flooded the crowd with power guitar riffs and blinding keyboard solos. The keyboardist Don Marciano was really getting into the music, lifting his keyboard up so he could play it more like a key-tar. There was many a time when I thought he would drop the instrument.

Vanishing Point opened with their usual epic beginning, launching straight into it once it ended. After the warming up the crowd had from Vampora, it wasn’t difficult for Silvio Massaro to get the punters to join him in the chants. He belted his lungs out throughout the set, and when he wasn’t, he was playing with guitarist Tommy Vucur’s whammy stick. Chris Porcianko, on the other hand, was all over the stage with his guitar, at one point even crawling on his knees. A key part of Vanishing Point is the drummer, Christian Nativo , who provided the strong rhythms that was further enhanced by the bass, played by Adrian Alimic. The new addition to the band, Jake Lowe, managed to bring the sound to a whole new level with his keyboards. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough proper keyboard solos in the night’s set.

Old favourites such as Season of Sundays and Once A Believer were played along with songs from the new album The Fourth Season, like I Within I. There was even a cover of a Sonata Arctica song, the band Vanishing Point will be supporting in their upcoming Europe tour.

The crowd, albeit small, was filled with dedicated fans who knew the lyrics to every song. There were sing-alongs and hollers for more. Silvio certainly did not hide his liking of the night’s crowd, exclaiming to one of his band mates how great the crowd was, which only elicited more cheers and hoots. I wish Vanishing Point all the best in their Sonata Arctica tour!