Eleventh He Reaches London @Rocket Room, Perth (21/05/10)

Mon 24th May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

On Friday May 21st, WAMi Award nominated The Rocket Room hosted a set of bands with a metal edge. The night was headlined by Eleventh He Reaches London (winners of the 2010 WAMi award for the Best Hard Rock/ Metal Act) and also featured performances by Grim Fandango, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving and The Proletariate.

A small crowd gathered around the stage, as the heavy drumming and screaming vocals of The Proletariate drew people into The Rocket Room. As the song Capitalist Punishment wound down, lead singer Adam Dwyer chatted to the audience and informed the crowd that they were about to go in to record an album, before asking if anyone had “a topical news story” to talk about. Even if it was partly because they needed time to fix an out of tune guitar, The Proletariate engaged in the most humorous and varied audience interaction of any of the bands playing that night. During Way To Love, Dwyer jumped off the stage, giving bassist Mitch Cox and guitarists Matt Van and Mark Gregson more room to move around. The Proletariate seemed relaxed in their surroundings, but still put on a professional show with heavy vocals, as they used some extra time to play older songs of theirs. The set ended almost suddenly, with the audience seeming like they would have enjoyed an extra few songs.

As Tangled Thoughts of Leaving started up, WAMi nominated drummer Ben Stacy enticed the crowd to the stage with a beat. The melody of Aaron Pollard’s piano and xylophone playing effortlessly wove its way through the drum beats and guitar chords, as people nodded and swayed throughout the room. The vibrations of the music were felt throughout the room and almost everyone stood up to watch. Guitarist Andrew McDonald’s constant rocking back and forwards enhanced the music’s thoughtful sound. Tangled Thoughts of Leaving’s music sounds like it could just as easily transition into a swinging jazz number as a heavy metal number. Sure enough, Pollard’s screaming lyrics blended in effortlessly, causing the front three rows to headbang energetically. Each band member seemed to be rather solitary, but their music blended to compliment each other. However, by about three quarters of the way through the set, the crowd had dispersed as the songs started to sound the same. But dedicated fans moved even closer to the stage for the remainder of the set. They played A Vexing Predicament, and then, amidst yells of “encore”, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving left.

The beginning of Grim Fandango had less of a crowd than Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, but it quickly grew as they played. The voices of the three vocalists combined well to produce a smooth singing style during Stuck, and the catchy rhythms flowed throughout the set. Grim Fandango are good at what they do – performing a unique brand of music, however they seemed unable to move out of their comfort zones. The crowd beyond the first three rows got restless and perhaps annoyed at being told “We’re Grim Fandango” five times in a ten song set. The rest of the crowd at the front enjoyed The Best, cheering loudly, which prompted the response “Thanks a lot. We’re gonna keep going.” Grim Fandango then powered away through the next two songs, leaving their fans happy and satisfied as the crowd awaited Eleventh He Reaches London.

WAMi award winners Eleventh He Reaches London got off to a slow start, with neither the DJ nor the audio technician noticing the repeated thumbs up from the band. Just when it seemed like they were going to start, a new song came on in the background. Several members of the crowd yelled out “Come on!” but they quickly quietened and waited again. Then, “Direct from the centre of darkness”, the opening chords of Swarming started up. People got as close as possible to the stage, as the song built up momentum and led into Ian Lenton’s vocals, while Mark Donaldson’s drumsticks became just a blur. The haunting, yet catchy beat of Hollow Be My Name had the crowd moving around and singing along, before shouting various requests. Lenton leant in close to the mic to sing, while his fellow guitarists floated around the stage. His voice appeared to crack a bit during Oh, Brother, but he pushed through. Having three guitarists and a bassist might sound like too much, but they worked well together.
Hill of Grace had the crowd swinging their hair around and bouncing along, and they continued to move as the set ended on Long Grows the List of the Live and Dead Pretenders. Eleventh He Reaches London gave their performance what they had, but there seemed to be room for much more. They advertised their June 18th show at Amplifier, saying it was the last show for them for a while “so it’s going to be fucking huge!” and hopefully it will be.