Helmet @ Fowler's Live,Adelaide (29/06/11)

Mon 4th Jul, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The first thing we heard approaching Fowlers on Sunday night was the kick drum of opening band, Engine Three Seven. The second thing we heard was a complaint. Fifty-five bucks for two bands! Exclaimed a small but disgruntled knot of gentlemen at the bottom of the stairs. The value for money considerations being null and void for those blessed ex gratia (and by Faster Louder!) we trooped on up regardless. The crowd in front of the stage definitely bagged their money’s worth of enjoyment from these raucous and energetic Melbournians, and we overheard loads of random people talking about how awesome they thought the band was.

If you like your metal served with a light touch of the theatrical, then you will love the fist-pumping shit out of Engine Three Seven. I’m not talking ‘bout Lear howling his madness to the night, nor Malvolio dancing in cross-garters…maybe more Yorick, had he still been with us (at least, judging by the description given by his melancholy and reminiscent friend). Vocalist/guitarist Casey Dean pumped and strut his way across the stage, urged the crowd on and – urged on by the crowd – performed the hell out of the set with mad mic-stand moves which reminded one reviewer* of Mike Patton and the other, who grew up in the rural lands,** of Farnsey.

The energetic performance seemed certain to continue when a roadie delivered a number of crisp, white towels to Helmet’s stage. Oh ho! We thought to ourselves. This ought to be good! And it was! As long time fans we’ve been looking forward to hearing their new material, and were pretty excited to be seeing them perform.

We seemed to be the only ones.

For the rest of the night we heard little else but whinging and whining and complaining coming from all around. Last time Helmet came to Adelaide they played the entire Meantime album, and the crowd lapped it up from beginning to end. As they should have, for it was AMAZING. For some, Sunday night was therefore a huge disappointment, and several punters lost no time in letting the band know, repeatedly, that they only came out to hear songs they know. We’ll never understand why it is that some people are so afraid to hear new material by their favourite songwriters. All your favourite songs were, once upon a time, songs you’d never heard before. The song that’s going to be your favourite new song of summer…is a song you haven’t heard yet. The songs you’re going to vote for in the Hottest 100 for 2012 are all songs you currently don’t know.

It was heartbreaking to see a band we love come out with so much joy and enthusiasm – despite a reported 2 hours sleep after the previous night’s Melbourne show – and have the pleasure drained from them by a hostile crowd. Even when guitarist/singer Paige Hamilton reassured everyone that a bunch of old favourites were on the set-list, and not to worry because they’ll be getting to them in due course, people continued to boorishly demand the same old songs. Over. And over. Again. If a band begins to associate a town, like Adelaide, with arseholes, then they will stop coming here. No-one wants to hang out with a hostile douchebag.

You write a lot of songs in a career spanning twenty-two years and seven albums: you can’t play them all in a single hour-and-a-half set. Helmet tried their very best to have a rocking good time and put on a good show, but we could see the strain and the hurt it was causing them to be faced with a hostile posse of ‘fans’. If you were one of the people who almost ruined the night both for the band and for everyone else, please stay home next time and chuck on Strap It On or Meantime. We’ll be the ones at the front opening our minds to something new!