New Found Glory, Bayside,The Wonder Years @ The Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne (23/02/2015)
Soundwave was huge, and any kid heading to The HiFi to spend their hard earned cash to go round three with The Wonder Years, Bayside, and New Found Glory deserve a medal of honour. This reviewer was certainly feeling buggered after the weekend, and a day back at work.
Unfortunately, The Wonder Years kicked off with some extremely mixed-down vocals. Front man Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell was barely audible unless he was screaming, but it was the fault of house equipment alone. The bloke does a decent Max Bemis impersonation, and appears to be gathering a similar cult following from a younger generation of fans. His stage presence wanders between seemingly honest idiosyncrasies of an overly emotional front man, and entirely contrived. The latter is bore from his crowd banter. |
He is friendly,
but reeking of someone who loves to listen to themselves talk. That
aside, the band delivered their catchy, punchy songs veiled with
traditionally injured-sounding wails to an audience that knew every damn
word. It's an effective combo when executed correctly. The Wonder Years
do indeed hit the mark, but it's nothing particularly new for this
seasoned punk-rock gig veteran.
A funny line about eating too much Lord Of The Fries got a bunch of laughs, but a mention of fellow pop-punkers All Time Low, oddly, did not. Heaps of lyrics were left to crowd sing alongs due to Soupy’s understandably dry throat from so many flights for Soundwave. The crowd feverishly obliged.
Rhythm guitarist Nick Steinborn’s keyboard playing was in vain beyond ballad The Devil In My Bloodstream, as it disappeared under the band’s three other guitarists. Drummer Mike Kennedy killed it. He was on point and energetic as fuck. Washington Square Park was a roaring and anthemic pearler of a song. Shows like the show so often that Pop-Punk's definitely for kids who bang their head with more joy than anger, clearly pervaded by the amount of stranger love in the mosh pit. A huge stage dived topped off a ripper set I would have loved a lot more had I been born seven years later. It was also good to see a band DIY their own shit off stage. Thanks for a great gig, Wonder Years.
The curly-haired security dude is a fucking champion. He’s thoughtful and excited with media and punters alike. Crowd surfers seem to fill him with joy, and he’s happy as long as everyone’s having a good time. Thank you, security dude.
Bayside were a band I missed the boat on some fifteen years ago, so my review was always going to be from an outsider’s perspective. They exhibit the nuanced and shrill warble of Placebo, complex lead parts of At The Drive in, and pop-punk aesthetics of Jimmy Eat World. Most tracks are gripping, fast-paced, no bullshit songs that are disarmingly complex under the surface, and their matter of fact live show suits their musical style. It’s like if Jimmy Eat World were always angry. It was a ripper show that's converted a long-time acquaintance to brand new fan. Masterpiece from their first album blew the joint away, as did their finish with Devotion And Desire. Great to see Anty from The Bennies make a guest appearance on stage too. He’s quickly becoming the new poster boy of Australian Rock n’ Roll, and that’s just fucking awesome.
If anyone at HiFi had missed the NFG bandwagon – as I did with Bayside - they were about to climb aboard. For the majority in the gig who already were, they knew exactly what was coming. A NFG gig is a rollicking, beautiful thing. There’s always an impassioned crowd, all made instantly friends by their shared love of Pop-Punk’s finest ever manifestation. Lots of bands mention a family vibe at gigs, but NFG shows are about as true as it gets. Without their primary song writer, the band have raised their own bar with their new music, and restated their place as the Kings of modern punk rock. Special mention to Set Your Goals drummer Mike Ambrose for delivering a walloping exhibition of Cyrus Bolooki’s lofty drum skills while the original percussionts was back home awaiting the birth of his first kid.
A New Found Glory show is not just head banging and fists, it's full body rapture from the pit, devouring the stalls and breakdowns so trademarkedly resplendent in most NFG songs. A wonderful, energetic gig, and – as always - a fucking good time. Hurry back, dudes. We miss you already.
Todd Gingell
A funny line about eating too much Lord Of The Fries got a bunch of laughs, but a mention of fellow pop-punkers All Time Low, oddly, did not. Heaps of lyrics were left to crowd sing alongs due to Soupy’s understandably dry throat from so many flights for Soundwave. The crowd feverishly obliged.
Rhythm guitarist Nick Steinborn’s keyboard playing was in vain beyond ballad The Devil In My Bloodstream, as it disappeared under the band’s three other guitarists. Drummer Mike Kennedy killed it. He was on point and energetic as fuck. Washington Square Park was a roaring and anthemic pearler of a song. Shows like the show so often that Pop-Punk's definitely for kids who bang their head with more joy than anger, clearly pervaded by the amount of stranger love in the mosh pit. A huge stage dived topped off a ripper set I would have loved a lot more had I been born seven years later. It was also good to see a band DIY their own shit off stage. Thanks for a great gig, Wonder Years.
The curly-haired security dude is a fucking champion. He’s thoughtful and excited with media and punters alike. Crowd surfers seem to fill him with joy, and he’s happy as long as everyone’s having a good time. Thank you, security dude.
Bayside were a band I missed the boat on some fifteen years ago, so my review was always going to be from an outsider’s perspective. They exhibit the nuanced and shrill warble of Placebo, complex lead parts of At The Drive in, and pop-punk aesthetics of Jimmy Eat World. Most tracks are gripping, fast-paced, no bullshit songs that are disarmingly complex under the surface, and their matter of fact live show suits their musical style. It’s like if Jimmy Eat World were always angry. It was a ripper show that's converted a long-time acquaintance to brand new fan. Masterpiece from their first album blew the joint away, as did their finish with Devotion And Desire. Great to see Anty from The Bennies make a guest appearance on stage too. He’s quickly becoming the new poster boy of Australian Rock n’ Roll, and that’s just fucking awesome.
If anyone at HiFi had missed the NFG bandwagon – as I did with Bayside - they were about to climb aboard. For the majority in the gig who already were, they knew exactly what was coming. A NFG gig is a rollicking, beautiful thing. There’s always an impassioned crowd, all made instantly friends by their shared love of Pop-Punk’s finest ever manifestation. Lots of bands mention a family vibe at gigs, but NFG shows are about as true as it gets. Without their primary song writer, the band have raised their own bar with their new music, and restated their place as the Kings of modern punk rock. Special mention to Set Your Goals drummer Mike Ambrose for delivering a walloping exhibition of Cyrus Bolooki’s lofty drum skills while the original percussionts was back home awaiting the birth of his first kid.
A New Found Glory show is not just head banging and fists, it's full body rapture from the pit, devouring the stalls and breakdowns so trademarkedly resplendent in most NFG songs. A wonderful, energetic gig, and – as always - a fucking good time. Hurry back, dudes. We miss you already.
Todd Gingell