Cog @ The Governor Hindmarsh,Adelaide, (05/06/09)

Sun 7th Jun, 2009 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

The Gov is dark and smoky, red lights and Marshall stacks set the scene. With a deafening roar of guitar distortion, Calling All Cars take the stage. The Melbourne three-piece make their way through a 30-min set with bass lines that fill your throat. Warming up the Adelaide crowd appears to be a relentless task; people hang back while the band perform a myriad of agreeable tunes like Testament, Hey You and Not Like Anyone. With their solid vocals, and affable stage presence, the Calling All Cars bid goodnight to a slightly less reserved Adelaide.

After helping to set up their own stage, Manchester boys Oceansize reappear and begin to transport those willing to accompany them on a journey to another planet. They label their sound – œprogressive death indie’ and provide just that. Sprawling, epic songs are perfectly executed one after the other. Mike Vennart(lead vox) jokes about the sparkly, pink glitter Pearl drumkit Mark Heron is playing, stating he would like to make it clear this was not their first choice… Nevertheless, Oceansize, named after the Jane’s Addiction song, wholeheartedly rock Adelaide with a liberal set.

Cog appear a little after 10pm, exploding into a perfect rendition of Doors and subsequently playing several tracks from their latest album, Sharing Space. The new material is skilfully executed, with bassist Luke Gower rocking his trademark 5-string Warwick. On silver, metallic-finish DW drums, Lucius Borich is Cog’s backbone, entertaining the crowd with an epic solo while some technical difficulties with Flynn Gower’s equipment are smoothed over. The difficulties ultimately lead to the regrettable absence of one song, but by then, Cog have shared with the crowd a healthy mix of new material, some tracks from The New Normal and have resurrected Moo from their EP Just Visiting (Part One). Flynn, still sporting his trademark moustache and guitars clad with Guevara, Marley, Aboriginal flag and One Human Family stickers, proves he still possesses the flair and ingenuity that catapulted Cog into the scene a decade ago.

At the end of the night, after many humble declarations of thanks to the crowd, and surviving on limited sleep having flown from Western Australia that morning, Cog have once again instilled passion and solidarity in the hearts of many.

Setlist:
Doors (Now & Then My Life Feels Like It’s Going Nowhere)
The Movie’s Over
Are You Interested?
Say Your Last Goodbye
Silence Is Violence
Moo
Sharing Space
Swamp
How Long
Resonate
What If
Bird of Feather

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.