Escape The Fate, Pierce TheVeil, Burning Brooklyn @ TheTivoli, Brisbane (1/5/2011)

Thu 5th May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The Tivoli is packed to the brim for the pop punk goodness that tonight promises. All manner of punters are milling around looking sufficiently angry and emotional and anxious to see American punkers Escape The Fate.

Burning Brooklyn are the local lads taking the stage first to give us a taste of what lies ahead. There seems to be quite a few fans amongst the crowd and the infectious and catchy beats that burst from the speakers are sure to win over a few more before the set is through.

All About You and Don’t Wait Up have the crowd up and moving. The band is polished and quite interactive with the crowd but it could be easy for them to fall under the curse of becoming another generic punk-pop band; that is until they play their final song Where The Heart Stops. The song is the stand out of the set and shows some really promising talent. Look out for this foursome in the future.

San Diego rockers Pierce The Veil absolutely burst onto the stage for the second set of the night and the entire place erupts in a frenzy of screams. The lads are extremely energetic and their blend of punk, pop and rock is the perfect support for tonight’s headliners.

Vic Fuentes builds a great rapport with the young crowd and when he invites a young girl onto the stage and proceeds to serenade her she is certainly the envy of almost every female in the room.

Caraphernelia is the stand out song of the set and one of the most popular. The band are tight and know what they are doing and as the set draws to a close they continue to hold the audience captive right until the final chords wail from the speakers.

From the minute the opening chant of Choose Your Fate begins to echo around The Tivoli and the lights dim for the final set of the night, the screams from the feverish crowd rise to an absolute deafening level. Craig Mabbitt and his cohorts are even more energetic than their predecessors and they use every part of the stage including the raised platform behind drummer Robert Ortiz to their advantage.

With a host of songs to choose from with which to woo the fans, the band rips into popular tracks such as 10 Miles Wide and The Flood before slowing down for a millisecond to have a chat with the crowd before launching into newer tracks such as Zombie Dance.

The entire band are real performers but underneath the posturing and swagger there are true musicians who are good at what they do.

Mabbitt’s vocals are clear and although sometimes they are drowned out by the pure volume of the crowd singing along with the more popular tracks he doesn’t miss a beat as he gives everything to the performance, pulling off everything from the acoustic version of Ashley to the rawer Situations. A highlight from the night is Bryan Money and his solo work. Taking centre stage on a few occasions the guitarist really gets the mosh moving with his quick fingers and draws some great sound from his instrument.

The lads tear through their set which lasts for just over an hour and they finish it up with the heaviest tracks of the night This War Is Ours (The Guillotine II) and The Aftermath G3. These incite even more mayhem from the floor especially when Mabbitt motions that he wants a circle pit of epic proportions to take place.

As the night winds down it is easy to see that Escape The Fate are more than just another set of angst-ridden punk rockers, they are polished, entertaining and talented. It is definitely worth it to see this band live.