British India, Boy In A Box,City Riots @ The Zoo, Brisbane(14/04/2011)

Mon 18th Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Kicking off the evening’s proceedings are Adelaide up-and-comers City Riots. Their pop-rock is perfectly suited to the already large crowd with hit single Tell Me How You Want Me To Dance especially well received. Inviting members of Boy In A Box on stage for a classy cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark was a winning move with their interpretation getting the crowd moving. City Riots are in the early stages of a career that, based on tonight’s short but sweet display, could well shadow that of the evening’s headliners.

“We are Boy In A Box and we’re here to fuck shit up” was a rather bold statement from frontman Tobias Priddle as the Melbourne four piece leapt into their opening number. It’s impossible to fault the ambition or energy of Boy In A Box but their overall performance was at times cringe-worthy and didn’t quite match the quality of City Riots before them.

Despite this, radio hit Moon Comes Up shone as a standout track that suggests the band is more suited to upbeat pop than the power stance rock that filled the rest of the set. Boy In A Box returned the favour by inviting City Riots on stage to join them in a cover of The Clash’s I Fought The Law which began well but soon had the crowd checking their watches and updating their status. Based on this evening’s set, Boy In A Box were probably not the best support choice for the evening’s headliners as their pub-rock did more to distract the crowd than warm them up.

As the crowd pressed forward and the venue grew progressively hotter (and sweatier), British India finally strode on stage to a roaring applause and immediately leapt into latest single March Into The Ocean. The set drew fairly evenly from all three of the band’s albums, but it was early hit Run The Red Light that provided an early highlight.

At one point I overheard a punter claim that “every song is a hit,” which seems slightly farfetched on the surface but for fans of the Melbourne act every song is. The crowd sang along to every word, moshed along to the heavier numbers, crowd surfed and engaged in banter with the band. Declan Melia’s vocal ability was, as always, a strongpoint as he yelled, sang and soared his way through the set with no time for a break.

Vanilla and I Said I’m Sorry showed the band at their stripped-back, emotive best but it was a cover of The Offspring’s Self Esteem that showed their true colours to the crowd who embraced every second of it. The beauty of British India at this point in time is that they are performing to a crowd that they are a part of. Long untidy hair, covering 90’s pop-punk tracks and their relentless performance have combined to once again show why they are one of our countries premier live rock bands, and with promise of a new album later in the year there is no doubt they will be traveling up, down and across the nation playing every venue and festival they can put their name to and no doubt with great success.

British India tell it how it is. They are not trying to change the world or develop a groundbreaking new sound. They are simply here to put on a high intensity rock show and have a great time while doing so.