Bury Your Dead @ Fowlers Live,Adelaide (22/03/09)

Wed 25th Mar, 2009 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE

It’s been almost two years since my last hardcore show in Adelaide, and last night proved that some things never change. The massive masturbation session that is the circle pit is still unfortunately going strong, and the dress sense of every hardcore kid is exactly the same, only now with added denim short shorts. This show also marked the last hardcore gig at Fowlers, and it’ll be truly sad to see the place go, especially now that they seem to have figured out how to mix bands adequately.

The openers, The Vampirates deserved a higher spot on the bill. Despite being a relatively new local crew, the fact that they play music that offers a smidge of innovation to the hardcore genre immediately makes them okay in my books. Playing everything from The Treasure Chest demo CD and a series of new tracks, The Vampirates proved that they’re not just another hardcore band. Those in attendance looked unsure for most of the set, and the drummer was mediocre at times, but these are merely teething problems for a band that could go places. As long as the ass end doesn’t drop out of the hardcore scene in Adelaide that is.

Abandon All Hope are a little bit metal, a little bit hardcore, and a lot mind-numbingly generic. Despite the obvious shortcomings in their sound, Abandon All Hope still put on a remarkably tight live show. Plenty of on-stage movement and synchronised head-banging did little to move a jaded Adelaide crowd however. Some between song chatter further distanced the audience, with vocalist Micah giving off the strong impression that he’d rather have been elsewhere. The set featured most of the tracks from their first record Where Life And Death Meet, with the standout being the performance of Angel Wings Are The Devil’s Things.

Michael Crafter’s new project Confession features him babysitting four pre-pubescent boys who sound like they learnt how to play hardcore at the same music school that every other stock-standard hardcore band in Australia seemingly attended. Being a veteran of the hardcore scene in Australia, one would hope Crafter would have learnt some new tricks by now, but Confession just follow the formula, only with added Crafter arrogance. Featuring impressive lyrical content about being addicted to meth and other fun topics, Crafter managed to make at least a few kids dance whilst dropping the F bomb every third word. Their closing track produced the most movement from the crowd, although presumably only because it meant they were one song closer to Bury Your Dead.

Boston’s very own Bury Your Dead are some of the best performers I’ve ever seen. Playing to a three-quarters-full Fowlers, new vocalist Myke, guitarists Bubble and Chris, and bassist Slim, brought an on-stage charisma that can only come from playing hundreds of shows together across the globe. Never before have I seen a band whose primary method of cooling down is spitting water in each other’s faces, or guitarists who spoon on stage whilst belting out solos. Last night was also the first time I’ve been instructed by a band to raise my hand and high-five the stranger next to me. But despite all the antics on-stage, Bury Your Dead also played some insanely tight technical hardcore; and they did it well. With a setlist that spanned all four of the group’s studio albums, there was no chance of sending fans home unhappy. Regardless of only recording the vocals for their latest self-titled album, Myke screeched his way through pitch-perfect renditions of songs from Cover Your Tracks, You Had Me At Hello, and Beauty & The Breakdown.

I overheard a punter on his way out describing Bury Your Dead’s performance as – œthe best fucking thing he’s ever seen in his life.’ I might not have rated it quite that highly, but it is certainly up there.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE