One Day As A Lion @ PrinceBandroom, Melbourne(01/03/2011)

Wed 2nd Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Rage Against The Machine’s Zach De La Rocha is a man who needs no introduction. For many he is the single most appealing thing about One Day As A Lion and as he led the three-piece out onto the modest stage this became immediately apparent. He was assailed by a strong showing of Rage Against The Machine t-shirts – even a couple of tattoos – and camera phones, which persisted to irritate him for the duration of the gig. Initially he seemed slightly anxious, opting to shy away from the attention to a space by the side of the drum-kit. Though after a quick “Uh…Check… Check, 1, 2.” everything was all in order.

Jon Theodore’s epic Bonham-esque bombast squeezed itself into every square-inch of the shaking bandroom. A brief solo and a wall of synthesised noise, care of The Locust’s Joey Karam – now officially the third member – gave way to the groove laden If You Fear Dying from the bands debut release. Though De La Rocha threw himself wildly around the stage he did so with some reservation, while the other two literally threw themselves at their respective instruments. He settled quickly as the crowd jumped around, arms flailing, screaming the occasional verse. By the second track the band looked at ease. Theodore, lathered in sweat, sent drops of his own perspiration upwards and outwards as he launched into the pressing introduction to Last Letter, the last 40 seconds of which was truly epic. Following this was one of four new tracks called Swashbuckler which carried an impressive urgency and an intricate pattern of melody unlike anything on the bands EP.

Leading into the next track De La Rocha made his first of many ventures toward his own synthesiser as Theodore and Karam held down an extended and curiously hypnotic jam. The presence of Theodore cannot be understated; after all he is responsible for providing the foundations on which the songs are built. When he heaved himself into the opening of Ocean View the floor of the bandroom shook as if it was struggling to contain the mass of sound emanating from the drums and synthesiser. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that most vocalists would struggle to cut through the huge wall of sound produced by Theodore and Karam. It seems that De La Rocha however benefits from having to work hard with the sound produced by the two, as it’s only when he forces his voice deep into the mix that he can explore his full dynamic range.

It’s not unknown that De La Rocha has a strong political voice. Taking time between songs to address the audience he refrained from any extended political tirade, taking time to thank everyone and subtly encouraging the small percentage of whom had camera phones positioned in his direction to put them away. “The moment is the memory,” he said after a brief warning against uploading recorded goods onto YouTube.

The indefatigable Theodore persisted with exploring the dynamics of bombast with huge break beats and the occasional flourish in two more new songs which again were notable for their departure from anything on the EP; tentatively titled Rockers and Swampy. The crowd responded to the songs with the contrived enthusiasm most crowds display in the event of unheard material, though everyone still reveled in watching De La Rocha jump around the stage manically, spitting vitriolic rhymes into the mic in the characteristic De La Rocha style.

After the two new tracks the audience was rewarded with a huge version of Wild International and a short introduction into One Day As A Lion which received the biggest response, care of the crawling syth riff. The final minutes of the track carried all the weight and intensity of the performance. De Le Rocha ran from one end of the stage to the other while Karam and Theodore threw everything they had into the aggressive rhythm that closes out the track. With thanks the band left the stage and returned for one last song. The fourth and final new track Peart Plus echoed the final moments of One Day As A Lion, albeit with less intensity. Toward the end of the track De La Rocha squeezed in a brief rant which was made indecipherable by Theodore and Karam.

Due perhaps to a distinct lack of material the band was only on stage for less than an hour, although the short set served them well. It was a flawless performance, one played with conviction and intensity. It was surprising to see and hear just how much noise a three-piece consisting only of drums, vocals and keys can make whilst retaining an impressive dynamic which didn’t ever tire or become overly repetitive. But that can only be attributed to the skill and talent of the members whose joint resumes reflect everything that makes music exciting in the present era.