Seether @ Rosemount Hotel,Perth (01/02/12)

Fri 3rd Feb, 2012 in Gig Reviews

Even from before the doors opened, the snake queue to enter the Rosemount Hotel was quite extensive. This was in anticipation of finding the greatest vantage point to see South African post-grunge/metal legends Seether touring their latest album Holding onto Strings Better Left to Fray. As the doors were opened, many punters filled the cosy venue in North Perth while others ventured to the bar before and during the performance of local supports Kill Teen Angst.

Indie/punk rockers Kill Teen Angst wasted no time in warming up the crowd with hard and heavy pounding drums along with excellent acoustics courtesy of the Rosemount’s sound guy. The locals received an overwhelmingly supportive reception from the crowd consisting of screams and applauding between tracks. The combination of throat-popping bass and melodic guitar solos exhibited an old school punk vibe from the Perth musicians which the crowd took to kindly. Front man Scott Tomlinson expressed his appreciation to the receptive crowd, and with many thanks to Seether. Tomlinson continued with the set introducing the band’s new single Future Breaks followed by One or Nothing with an organic and aesthetic sound illustrating a well-rehearsed set. Kill Teen Angst would have gained a lot of fans and local awareness from this support slot.

With an excitable crowd and spilling beer jugs, the Rosemount Hotel was well prepared and awaiting the arrival of the head-liners on the dark gloomy stage. The South Africans were welcomed with the cheering one would expect from a crowd five times the size. Long haired and bearded front man Shaun Morgan belched out the first few tracks which had the crowd singing along.

The red gloomy lights on stage contributed to the grunge-like atmosphere that is Seether. With immense clarity in the vocals and instrumental outfit, the band perfectly delivered the classic Gasoline from their 2006 release, One Cold Night. A sea of devil horns in the air and flowing drinks attributed to a few happy campers who knew they were in for a mid-week treat at the Rosemount Hotel. Morgan was not overly engaging with crowd, allowing an extra track or two in the set. Others may argue that Morgan’s stage presence made engagement with the audience redundant. Seether delivered their classics including Fine Again closing with strobe lights and smoothly emerging into Broken, the collaboration with Amy Lee from Evanescence. This song inspired huge screams from the crowd who sang along and cheered for the acoustic rendition of the track that brought them commercial success.

The same red lighting throughout the set maintained the mood as the band continued to run through their back catalogue. A spotlight on drummer John Humphrey had the crowd going wild as he smashed through an impressive drum solo resonating an immense amount of bass throughout the venue. The technical solo eventually slowed down after a number of minutes as the opening riff of Breakdown began.

Seether’s melodious roar continued into the night and regrettably, eventually came to end -a part of reality that was hard for some fans to accept. Morgan promised to hit Australian shores again real soon, but “…hopefully in the winter” he said as it seemed the international rockers were a little spent from Perth’s recent heatwave. The post-grunge legends closed with Remedy, the track that everyone was waiting to hear leading to a mosh pit significant in size.