Dead Letter Circus, Galaxy @ The Zoo (16/06/2011)
Brisbane rock band Dead Letter Circus have enjoyed nationwide success on the back of their debut album This is the Warning and therefore returned to The Zoo to raise profits and bring newest member Tom Skerlj overseas to join them for their first tour of The States next month.
Having never heard of the supporting local group, Galaxy, I was interested to see why Dead letter Circus had handpicked them for this show. They strolled onto the stage at 8:30 but unfortunately only around 50 punters had turned up early, however the small crowd would prove to have made the right choice. Playing a 45 minute set of original material, the three piece sounded remarkable with a great sound mix and an infectious energy which kept everyone fascinated throughout. There are obvious influences of Muse, Radiohead and Deftones (of which the Headup Riff was played perfectly), however the band maintains a sense of originality with great dynamics and a fantastic falsetto from the front man. Finishing with a hard rock tune complete with a Rage Against the Machine Revolver outro riff and a guitar smash, Galaxy definitely won a load of new fans.
The crowd slowly filtered in, so when Dead Letter Circus came on at 9:15 the venue was about three quarters full. The band chose to play their entire self-titled first EP for the first half of the set as a thank you to the crowd, the majority who were long time fans. They sounded as tight as ever with heavy-hitting from sticks man Luke Williams and Stewart Hill providinghuge bass lines. It was awesome to hear classics as Alien and Disconnect and Apply played once again with renewed energy from the boys. Front man Kim Benzie was in fine form but it was disappointing that his vocals were so low in the sound mix; however the crowd belting out the lyrics with him definitely helped.
The second half of the show contained the some more familiar tracks off the recent album, with The Space on the Wall, One Step and set-closer Next in Line highlights. Coming back onto the stage barely a minute after leaving it, the band thanked the local crowd for their loyalty, telling them “we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys”. It was then a pleasant surprise to hear to the first notes of rarity Tremors, which got a great response from the horde of fans. Closing with the final track, This is the Warning, from the album of the same name, Kim and Tom joined Luke for an epic final drumming section to finish off.
It was clear from this show that Galaxy are definitely a band to keep an eye out for in the near future, with a fantastic sound and energy to match. With Dead Letter Circus heading overseas for a short UK and month-long US tours, it is clear that they have the talent and hard-working ethic needed to succeed in the rest of the world and this reviewer wishes them the best.
Sebastian Betten
Having never heard of the supporting local group, Galaxy, I was interested to see why Dead letter Circus had handpicked them for this show. They strolled onto the stage at 8:30 but unfortunately only around 50 punters had turned up early, however the small crowd would prove to have made the right choice. Playing a 45 minute set of original material, the three piece sounded remarkable with a great sound mix and an infectious energy which kept everyone fascinated throughout. There are obvious influences of Muse, Radiohead and Deftones (of which the Headup Riff was played perfectly), however the band maintains a sense of originality with great dynamics and a fantastic falsetto from the front man. Finishing with a hard rock tune complete with a Rage Against the Machine Revolver outro riff and a guitar smash, Galaxy definitely won a load of new fans.
The crowd slowly filtered in, so when Dead Letter Circus came on at 9:15 the venue was about three quarters full. The band chose to play their entire self-titled first EP for the first half of the set as a thank you to the crowd, the majority who were long time fans. They sounded as tight as ever with heavy-hitting from sticks man Luke Williams and Stewart Hill providinghuge bass lines. It was awesome to hear classics as Alien and Disconnect and Apply played once again with renewed energy from the boys. Front man Kim Benzie was in fine form but it was disappointing that his vocals were so low in the sound mix; however the crowd belting out the lyrics with him definitely helped.
The second half of the show contained the some more familiar tracks off the recent album, with The Space on the Wall, One Step and set-closer Next in Line highlights. Coming back onto the stage barely a minute after leaving it, the band thanked the local crowd for their loyalty, telling them “we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys”. It was then a pleasant surprise to hear to the first notes of rarity Tremors, which got a great response from the horde of fans. Closing with the final track, This is the Warning, from the album of the same name, Kim and Tom joined Luke for an epic final drumming section to finish off.
It was clear from this show that Galaxy are definitely a band to keep an eye out for in the near future, with a fantastic sound and energy to match. With Dead Letter Circus heading overseas for a short UK and month-long US tours, it is clear that they have the talent and hard-working ethic needed to succeed in the rest of the world and this reviewer wishes them the best.
Sebastian Betten