Dead Letter Circus, Sydonia,This Collision @ The Hi-FiBar, Sydney (05/06/2010)

Tue 8th Jun, 2010 in Gig Reviews

The Hi-Fi has sold out for the Dead Letter Circus show in Brisbane as they tour their debut album This Is The Warning.

The crowd is pumped for the gig as these local lads have earned quite a reputation for putting on a great live show.

First up to open the onslaught of musical talent are another local foursome, This Collision. Brutal post-hardcore metal pumps out of the sound system and around the venue as the boys take us through their set. Shaun Coar’s vocal range is improving every time he takes the stage and the energy that the entire band have is impressive.

Next up is Sydonia. Dana Roskvist gyrates around the stage with his guitar and the percussion solos from bassist Adam Murray and guitarist Sam Haycroft really brought an original vibe to the performance. Sydonia’s progressive rock tunes were the perfect front-runners for Dead Letter Circus and even though there were some feedback issues, the set was solid and the crowd was worked into a frenzy for the headliners.

Kim Benzie and the lads from Dead Letter Circus are no strangers to performing in front of large crowds, having graced the stages of events such as Ripe Festival and the Big Day Out and supporting all kinds of rock royalty from Cog to Judas Priest. Tonight they proved they are well worthy of moving into their own royal status as they owned the Hi-Fi Bar.

The previous set did have some feedback squeals but these have been fixed for the headliners and Dead Letter Circus begin to show us why they are fast becoming one of the most favourite live bands in Australia.

The whole set is solid and seamless as they move through the list, and each song is greeted with even more rowdiness than the previous track. The mosh-pit surges and the atmosphere of the crowd is definitely one of a party mood as strobe lights flash from the stage and temporarily blind the audience.

The band love to perform and this is evident with the way they are onstage. Benzie is all smiles as he encourages the crowd to sing with him during the favourite Disconnect and Apply from the first self-titled EP and also during Next in Line. Rob Maric and Stewart Hill are fantastic on guitar and bass and Luke Williams is absolutely dynamic on the drums. Benzie interacts with the crowd so well, giving heartfelt thanks for helping the album debut at #2 on the Aria Charts and his vocals soar as he belts out the lyrics. The new album has some gems on it and they really transfer well to the live arena. Big, the latest single off the album, is one of the best songs of the night.

Towards the end of the hour-long set, the lads invite Sydonia back on-stage with their drums for some added percussion solos to help them out during the title track This Is The Warning. It is a memorable song and again the extra beefed up percussion brings that unique aspect to what would otherwise be a standard performance.

There is no encore tonight and although some other staple favourites such as the haunting Alien and moody Lines are missing, the crowd have certainly got their monies worth with one of the best Dead Letter Circus gigs in recent memory.