As I Lay Dying @ AmplifierBar, Perth (28/03/10)

Thu 1st Apr, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Eagle Eye’s gallery

Punters made an early appearance at Amplifier Bar for two reasons, to get a ticket to American metalcore giants As I Lay Dying before they sold out, and to support the Perth hardcore scene with two local bands booked for the support act.

Mandalay Victory have gone from strength to strength supporting bands like Byron Bay superstars Parkway Drive and now legends As I Lay Dying and in the last month they have released a full length album Tales Over Time. This band is sincerely impressive live, They’re tight and front man Dane Warren’s clean vocals are exceptional. They played mainly new material like Family and the catchy tune P.A.R.T…Why? because I gotta When the intro to the song started, guitarist Byron Turner revealed the words PARTY! on the back of his guitar.

Another Perth band that are making a name for themselves are We are the Emergency, who have become a big name in the local scene. They are never a disappointment live, especially with vocalist Ryan Lake’s screams and erratic on stage movements they are quite a sight to see. Being a seven-piece band on stage would be hard enough, but to make it even more difficult they had to contend with sharing the stage with Justin Foley’s massive drumkit. Several times it looked as though someone was going to end up in the crowd, but surprisingly they kept their composure, rocked out, and still managed to look cool.

Any band that fills Amplifier Bar to the brim on a Sunday night demands respect, and these boys had it. Before heading to Australia the five-piece Californian band recorded their fifth studio album The Powerless Rise to be released on May 11th, unfortunately it was “too early” to play any of their new material so make it up to the punters they played Forever from 2003’s Frail Words Collapse and plenty of other older material.

The musical talent of this band is apparent in their live set, the vocals of Tim Lambesis were brutal yet clean, everything just seemed to flow together, every guitar hook and every drum beat were played with such intensity and were executed to perfection. At one stage, Lambesis demanded a circle pit around the pole in the middle of the dance floor, the crowd were only too happy to oblige, beers in hand the crowd, decked in black clothing scrambled around the pole, like an angry swam of bees.

It was a bittersweet feeling leaving the venue, people were commenting on starting work early the following morning, and others were wishing it had lasted that little bit longer.

Eagle Eye’s gallery