The Blackout, There forTomorrow, Veara @ MetroTheatre, Sydney (01/03/2011)

Wed 2nd Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

In 2011, Sum 41 are about as relevant as a pair of roller skates or a Discman users’ manual. So when the band pulled out of their Sydney Sidewave due to the illness of frontman Deryck Whibley, it came as no surprise that over half of those who had purchased tickets still turned up to see the other three bands on the bill, despite being entitled to a full refund. This begs the question: how many of these people would have actually stuck around to see Sum 41, had they performed?

First to take the stage was US pop-punk quartet Veara, who enthralled the audience with a short, but energetic performance, complete with stage dives and air-kicks. The band walked on stage to a recording of LCD Soundsystem’s You Wanted a Hit, before launching into a track from their sophomore album, What We Left Behind. The group had the crowd pumping their fists from the first song to the last, and not once did they even hint at slowing down. Veara’s music has been likened to Blink-182 and New Found Glory, but their live sound owes more to Story of the Year, or the more recent Rise Against albums. Their set barely lasted half an hour, but they sure know how to use their time well, leaving a lasting impression in everyone’s mind.

There for Tomorrow probably didn’t change any lives with their set of inoffensive pop-rock tunes, but they did enough to make their performance a mostly enjoyable one. Frontman Maika Maile has an erratic presence on stage, moving from hurling his microphone stand across the room to being fully submerged in the crowd in a split second. While the rest of the band did little to keep spirits high, they did sound like an extremely tight outfit, and Maika more than compensated for their timid performances. Highlights included A Little Faster, as well as an attempt at an acapella cover of Sum 41’s Fat Lip. It wasn’t quite as good as the real thing (especially since they couldn’t recall the lyrics), but it was as good as we were going to get.

Surrogate headliners The Blackout whipped the crowd into a frenzy as soon as they took the stage. The Welsh six-piece didn’t appear to be at all daunted by the task of headlining someone else’s gig, performing with the confidence and energy of seasoned stadium-rockers. The band powered through an extensive setlist of tracks from their two studio albums, as well as a couple of songs from their upcoming album Hope. Children of the Night had the entire crowd singing along and was an obvious highlight, as was a hilarious rendition of Willow Smith’s Whip My Hair.

The most enjoyable aspect of the show however, was the banter between vocalists Sean Smith and Gavin Butler. The two frontmen had several in-depth and humorous discussions during the set on topics ranging from feminism to the difference between ‘South Wales’ and ‘New South Wales’. Sean had the entire crowd in hysterics when he quipped “This next song goes out to all the Aussie women here tonight… because you’re all fucking liars!” The band commendably played a full hour-long set, despite being scheduled to play for just thirty minutes, and as they left the stage, it was clear that they had not only satisfied everyone who was there to see them, but had also won over a significant number of new fans.

While there were a few attendees who were visibly upset about the fact that they were probably not going to hear Fat Lip or In Too Deep in 2011, the majority of the crowd seemed content with witnessing three promising young bands put on stellar performances.