Silverstein, I Killed the PromQueen, The Getaway Plan @Manning Bar, Sydney (03/06/06)

Mon 5th Jun, 2006 in Gig Reviews

The popularity of Canadian-based screamo band Silverstein has grown since their last visit to Oz, if their sold-out Sydney show on Saturday night is anything to go by. When the band visited around the same time last year, for their whirlwind five cities in five days tour, they played their Sydney gig at the famous Annandale Hotel. This year, it was the larger 990+ capacity Manning Bar at the University of Sydney.

Although the venue is a bigger one, I wouldn’t say it is more impressive. There was a long wait to get inside which is no fun when it’s freezing out. It is too big to be an intimate venue like the Annandale but didn’t have a very large floor space for those keen to get jumping. But on the positive side, security was more laidback and the gig had a more relaxed feel than many I have been to lately. Also, due to the smaller floor space, the “moshpit” did not get out of hand and it was possible to stand down the front and actually see the band play instead of seeing elbows in your face the whole time whilst struggling to stay upright.

The first support for the night was Melbourne’s The Getaway Plan. They put on a tight and impressive performance yet somehow didn’t manage much crowd interaction or excitement. There was a small group of obvious fans of the band jumping around like crazy down the front and singing along to the tunes they knew but the rest of the crowd remained quite subdued. I’d say this is more due to the fact that a lot of people didn’t know their music, rather than a reflection on the band’s performance.

Next, Adelaide’s Hardcore/Metal legends I Killed the Prom Queen graced the stage. Unfortunately I missed most of their set as I was running around the building trying to find an ATM machine. (There was none inside yet there were no passouts, which meant people without enough cash might have missed out on the merchandise on offer. Quite annoying, really.) But from what I did see and hear, they also put on an impressive show and I look forward to catching them at next weekend’s Come Together Festival.

The audience was clearly waiting for Silverstein, though. As the boys finally set foot on stage at 11pm, cheers erupted from the crowd. The band wasted no time in launching into a selection of songs from both their debut album When Broken is Easily Fixed (2003, Victory Records) and their sophomore release, Discovering the Waterfront (2005, Victory Records).

The band received a huge response with crowd favourites ‘Smashed Into Pieces’, ‘November’ and ‘Already Dead’. There was the usual moshing, fist pumping and singing back of lyrics. There was even the token sing on stage/stage dive from an excited punter.

A few songs in, vocalist Shane Told was slightly taken aback by a front row audience member screaming “I want to have your babies!” and politely asked said girl and the other crazed fans to “please stop grabbing my private parts”.

Silverstein put on an energetic and almost flawless performance that didn’t lose interest or attention from the crowd at all.

The show production was done well and was suitable for the venue. The acoustics sounded good and the minimal visual effects (coloured and flashing lights) was effective for a smaller show.

It seemed to be over all too soon when the band announced they were playing their final song for the night (‘Smile in Your Sleep’). But the excitement remained until Silverstein re-appeared on stage for their encore. Told thanked the crowd for their cheers of “encore” and “one more song” and asked if it would be okay if they played two more instead. They ripped into their final songs for the night and ended the gig on a high note. After promising they would be back in about six months, many predicted their appearance at this year’s infamous Taste of Chaos.

After the show, the band mingled with their fans near the merch. table. They proved that although they’re talented musicians and may have some crazy fans, they’re really just a bunch of super-nice, down-to-earth guys.