Eleventh He Reaches London @Old Bar, Melbourne(08/05/2009)

Sat 9th May, 2009 in Gig Reviews

I arrived at Old Bar just in time to catch a few songs of A Dead Forest Index, a two-piece band. With a vague hint of Swans, one or two songs were rather enjoyable. Unfortunately, as much as the vocalist knew the potential of his voice and how to control it, it sometimes got too piercing and over-layered.

Fourteen Nights At Sea started their set at a slow pace, gradually building up to a climatic peak in the first song. They played a few oldies, as well as a new unnamed song. As they went through their set, I felt like I was in a whirlwind of pure noise, in a good way. There is nowhere else I would like to see this band playing at. The smallness of Old Bar captured their sound perfectly.

After much trouble putting a white curtain up for the projections, Heirs finally started. With disturbing videos of naked women, odd pig-like masks and snakes playing in the background, the quartet played to a packed room. It was obvious they had their fans. To add to the oddness of the projections and artwork, one of the guitarists also had a pedal glued to his guitar. The band brought the crowd to their feet, with many moving to the beat, and at the final progressions of their set, they proceeded to bringing the crowd to a standstill. Feedback, noise, and lots of tremolo created such a crescendo of sound that everyone just stood gaping.

Taking the stage a little later than they were supposed to, Perth-based Eleventh He Reaches London started with I Am the Bearer, I Stand in Need to many shouts and whistles. Tonight was the first time they were playing material from their new album, Hollow Be My Name, in Melbourne. Everyone was stoked. For the Commonwealth and The Queen silenced the crowd, beginning with the delicate sounds of the guitar, and then quickening the pace. As the last song on the album ended, the band seamlessly launched into the first song, Hollow Be My Name.

The band’s energy rippled out through the room, there was not one person in the crowd who stood stock still during the set. Along with the songs from the new album, Eleventh also threw Swarming from The Good Fight for Harmony into the mix, pleasing both new and old fans. Engaging the crowd is one thing, being able to bring them through so many emotions in one set is another. And Eleventh achieved that without seemingly any sweat.

Ranging from folk-like, quieter tunes like Son, You’re Almost An Orphan to passionate, chaotic songs like Britain and Structure, everyone was entertained from start to finish. To put it simply, it fluctuated between auditory peace and mayhem. If this band continues writing and performing music like this, they will almost certainly be at the top in no time.