The term ‘shoe gazing’ is often used to describe that breed of Death Cab loving, Saddle Creek subscribing, Chuck-Taylor wearing indie kid who used to make up 80% of the crowd at gigs around any given city. Perhaps it’s time for the term to be reclaimed by the genre that coined the phrase to begin with.

The bands on Friday’s bill certainly did a lot of shoe gazing, although this could be because their shoes were commanding their effects pedals. But then there’s also the associated introversion & self reflection that carries over too. In fact, from opening act Gutter Guitar through to the headliner, Cease, there was an overwhelming feeling of something that can only be described as voyeuristic. These bands where playing for two reasons, the first, was themselves, and the second was the music, fortunately the crowd was not one to mind. They didn’t need audience interaction, or melodies to dance to, and they certainly weren’t interested in hand claps.

The first act, Gutter Guitar, was no more than a man with a guitar and a loop station, staring at his feet. The droning, swelling instrumental music was a suitable precursor to the bands that would follow, and for the 20 or so punters who had arrived early enough, put you in exactly the state of mind the night would ask of you.

Despite threats that this may have been their last gig, Giant Tortoise put on a stand-out performance. Watching the two guitarists move in unison you couldn’t quite tell if it was because they were just so in tune with the music they were making together, or because it was well rehearsed. While it was the energy and movement that set Giant Tortoise apart from the other bands on tonight’s bill, it was not because their music lacked any strength. Without being so brash as to suggest they might be catchy, there was certainly parts that one might mistake for a hook if they were so inclined. That said, they made it very clear that they were only playing for themselves when guitarist Jay Watson informed the audience that they were going to end the set by playing the first song again ‘because it’s fun to play’.

Atolah had a darker take on the swelling effects-laden sounds of the night. Early in the set they played Dead Leg off their Relics EP to an appreciative crowd. Atolah’s sound was an apt fit for the other bands, but seemed to be missing something. While the other bands walked the line between intrigue and distance with the audience, Atolah seemed more intent in isolating them, never offering them any more than what they would expect and removing the mystery the other bands on the bill were harboring.

By the time Cease came to play, the room was dense with bodies and plenty of restrained testosterone. The mass of males in the narrow room made viewing anything at all a real mission. But from what glimpses you caught, you remembered that this music wasn’t about the audience, so not being able to see didn’t mean a thing. The droning guitars were heavy in the air, filling the few spaces left in the room. While the band was not playing for the audience, there was something of the sound simmering through the room that was echoed in the crowd. The weighty bodies nodding with the humming of the airwaves, the heaving of the guitars pressing down on their solid frames. Something in the rhythmic, buzzing jams washing over the audience blurred the lines between real and unreal.

Over the past five years Cease have developed a sound that transcends the aural landscape into something more tangible. Tonight’s show saw the launch of their album Cicada to a devoted crowd, which we can only assume is an indication of what is to come.