Senses Fail, The Mission InMotion, Sleepers @ The Hi-Fi,Brisbane (12/08/10)

Wed 18th Aug, 2010 in Gig Reviews

That Brisbane’s own, Sleepers began with cheesy synchronised rock moves should have rung alarm bells. The band moved through their set pulling out the odd timed jump here and there. It was the guitar and bass work, which together, made their songs striking to the ear. The usual lead singer was missing in action with his place being filled by a gentlemen called Tim. Having never heard of the band before tonight, it would appear he filled the shoes just fine as his voice carried through the venue with clarity, right up to the bar. The set finished with Caviar which was also the strongest of the evening. By the times these kids got warmed up, they finished.

Sydneysiders, Mission In Motion, brought the rock back the Hi-Fi from the moment the curtains opened. Singer, Brett Islaub, is unmistakeable yet his voice doesn’t match his gigantic frame. He does the songs justice. If that is your kind of thing, that is. All five members owned the stage, looking comfortable, ploughing through songs and winning over a few patrons with some crafty guitar work and hard energy. New Skin was the familiar favourite amongst a few and even the odd non-believer around the room.

The room filled but enough space remained to swing a fringe and still look fashionable. New Jersey outfit, Senses Fail, took their places. A band that doesn’t make it to this end of the world much and with any luck, they will keep it that way. Whilst James Nielsen is full of energy on stage, there are few front men who can pull off the arrogant, self-important, pompous attitude and still manage to gather respect from a crowd. This jerk isn’t one of them. A ridiculous amount of ranting between songs made many in the crowd want to exit the building. Fast. Some of the pearls of idiocy that he spat out during the course of the evening were “We’ve got a new CD coming out and it’s better than all of you”, and “So what? NOFX fuck up all the time. So what?”. Fat Mike can pull it off, this was just over-the-top arrogance that alienated many in the room. To top it all off, his attempts at melodic vocals were shot, being carried the whole evening by Garrett Zablocki.

The set went on however and the band played a selection of songs from every one of their releases to date, even pulling out the really old Steven and Bloody Romance. Zack Roach and Zablocki’s guitars were out of step for the whole evening. It was hard to believe that bassist, Jason Black, was plugged in at all during points in the set. The highlights of the set were any point at which Neilsen had his mouth shut but others included Lady In A Blue Dress, Buried A Lie, Rum Is For Drinking, Not For Burning and Bonecrusher.

Say what you will about Senses Fail, their records rock but it was pretty obvious that the studio and being the guilty pleasure in my bedroom is where they should stay. Shame.