Architecture in Helsinki @ TheAstor, Perth (27/08/11)

Mon 29th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

In the midst of a massive tour encompassing the USA, Russia, Europe and the UK, modernist pop quintet Architecture in Helsinki announced their most extensive Australian tour in years. The venue of choice was the newly renovated Astor theatre, with the perfect mix of seats and a dance floor. The turnout was encouraging as hundreds of excited people flooded through the doors.

New Zealand band Cut Off Your Hands were first to hit the stage and set a fun mood with their funky style. Felicity Groom followed soon afterwards. Energetic and cheerful, she and her band provided some up tempo beats to really get the party going.

Her set was fun and visually effective but experienced some technical difficulties with the audio balance which was only fixed by the time she was on her third song. A few unkind audience members tried to boo her off, but were soon hushed by the supportive crowd.

Scenic came next and got the crowd to dance along to their indie pop. They had some pretty amazing guitar going and strong and confident vocals. Their cool alternative take on the typical boy band was an excellent addition to the night.

After a not-so-long wait, Architecture in Helsinki were met by a screaming crowd of dedicated fans. The set was dedicated to frontman Cameron Bird’s grandmother which was met with applause.

The professionalism and dedication of these young performers was incredible. The set was smooth and practiced, with not a single second wasted. They played both new and old hits and featured a number of songs from their latest album, Moment Bends.

The crowd sang, danced and clapped along and called for an encore. Obliging, the band came out and played two more songs and finally received applause loud enough to bring the roof down and showed that once again, the Australian music industry is as strong as ever.