Children Collide @ Capitol,Perth (27/08/11)

Tue 30th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

As Saturday rolled in, so did Children Collide, Damn Terran and DZ Deathrays. Punters rocked up in droves to see Children Collide perform what could only be described as their billionth Perth show (not literally but they’ve been here a lot!)

Unfortunately for a lot of people, they missed both support bands thanks to Capitol’s incredibly stupid playing times. If you want to put bands on, put them on at a reasonable time and not when people are still having dinner. Otherwise, leave it to the venues that do support live music and aren’t just there to turn a very tidy profit.

But, I digress…

Children Collide powered through a set of crowd favourites, new and old, from Social Currency to Farewell Rocketship to Arrows and My Eagle. The punters lapped up every minute that they had with the band, never tiring of throwing their bodies around in displays of reckless fashion. People were crowd surfing, stage diving and shouting every lyric sung by lead singer Johnny Mackay. It was total anarchy.

Even when the bouncers tried their best to ruin the night of those people who were standing or dancing near the stairs, the ticket buyers seemed relentless. If only the bouncers realised that people stood there because they couldn’t see or didn’t want to get squished by the insane mosh pit, then everyone would’ve gotten along and just partied. Sadly this us vs them mentality is visible at every Capitol gig so nothing will ever change and it’s not Children Collide’s fault, it’s just the way it is.

Bassist Heath Crawley stage dove many times throughout the set, inspiring those brave enough to tackle the security to sneak their way onto the stage and dive off. One dude did this and mis-timed the landing, landing on his face in the middle of the pit.

As several band members from Damn Terran and DZ Deathrays climbed onto the stage, they brought with them several rolls of toilet paper which they then proceeded to throw into the crowd while Children Collide jammed a little ditty, becoming background music to their own set, as the madness unfolded infront and around them.

If the gig didn’t sell out, it sure felt like it; with no place to stand without rubbing shoulders or other various body parts with the people next to you. The crowd knew every word to every song; turning many songs into massive sing-alongs. There were times when you couldn’t even hear the vocals because the crowd were singing that loud.

And just like that, it was all over.

Children Collide’s set seemed like it had been cut short or maybe everyone was just having such a good time that time flew. This is not a bad thing. And while some punters may have wanted or expected an encore, there wasn’t one to be heard. This was rather strange as encores seem to have become part of the deal when you see a band that they may as well not even leave the stage.

Children Collide and fellow Melbournians came, saw and conquered Capitol and Perth, ending the Loveless Tour on a definite high and securing their fans for the next time they make it to this side of the big isle.