Northlane, Structures, Stray From The Path, Statues @ The Annandale Hotel Sydney (01/06/13)
For those fortunate to have seen a show at the Annandale Hotel, you can understand how exciting the prospect of seeing a sold out hardcore show there can be. In fact, of all the small live music venues across Sydney, the Annandale Hotel is, hands down, one of the greatest for both bands and crowds alike. So, seeing Sydney locals Northlane play there to a packed out room is a not to be missed experience for those in the area.
Opening up the night with an absolute blast of a set, Perth-based band Statues set the energy levels at max. Describing themselves as a chaotic hardcore band, their live show more than lives up to their vision, with the energy levels of their show enough to fill a stadium.
Throughout the set both Scott Kay on guitar and Matthew Templeman on the bass left the stage to join the moshing crowd as well as spending time playing from the top of the bar, along with lead vocalist Jayme van Keulen. This seemed to impress just about everyone besides the bar staff.
While I managed to catch mentions of songs from their split EP Compass and the single, Affliction Prescription, off their soon to be released debut album, I was rather distracted by the insanity and energy of the band’s stage presence.
Next up was New York locals Stray From The Path, whose strong punk sound and solid fanbase amongst the crowd saw the energy inside the venue continue to build.
Vocalist Drew York called for circle pits, jumping, stage diving and crowd surfing throughout the set, and the crowd well and truly answered him with a continuous stream of fans heading towards the stage before throwing themselves back into the mercy of the mosh. While I was quite happily tucked away from the rapidly growing surge of the crowd towards the stage, those who managed to scream along with York into the mic definitely looked like they got the most out of the set. The highlight of their set was definitely when Adrian Fitipaldes of Northlane joined the band on stage for Bring It Back To The Streets, which created a renewed wave of crowd surfers towards the end of the set.
Structures, the last of the opening bands, managed to pull off an incredible set despite missing their vocalist Nick Xourafas due to passport issues. Filling in for the current tour, the band’s multi-talented tour manager Alex Lidstone, lead the band’s set and is definitely deserving of massive congratulations for his performance.
Fresh from their Canadian tour with Northlane, their set was absolutely flawless and flowed perfectly with the feel of the crowd. Their dynamic stage presence and energetic performance built on the anticipation of the crowd waiting to see Northlane, creating a strong sense of excitement throughout the venue.
Finally, with the venue filled to the brim and the excitement levels of the crowd peaking, Northlane took to the stage with a minor technical glitch during their intro. This did nothing to dampen their entrance or the crowd’s roaring cheers.
Kicking off their set with Genesis and Scarab, Fitipaldes took over the complete attention of everyone present, keeping them captivated throughout the entire set. Windbreaker saw more than half the crowd throwing themselves into a frenzied mosh to match the growing energy levels pouring off the stage.
Fitipaldes took a moment to calm the crowd down in order to dedicate Quantum Flux to a member of the Brisbane show from the previous night who suffered a seizure during the set, with a passionate speech that “being alive is such a beautiful thing lets remind ourselves of that here tonight!” The set continued with Drew York joining the stage during Masquerade, which was also being filmed for the upcoming music video.
While the energy levels of the crowd never really dipped during the set, the combination of filming and York returning to the stage drew the crowd into a rather frenzied several minutes of crowd surfing and stage diving.
The mix of songs from both of Northlane’s albums fitted well with the crowd who knew each song of the setlist and were screaming along to every single word. Overall the most fitting word to describe the show was passionate with the crowd and band alike sharing the energy and emotions behind each song. Unfortunately, as with all shows, Northlane’s set drew to a close and the encore, Dispossession, created an outstanding end to an incredible night.
Bethany Williams
Opening up the night with an absolute blast of a set, Perth-based band Statues set the energy levels at max. Describing themselves as a chaotic hardcore band, their live show more than lives up to their vision, with the energy levels of their show enough to fill a stadium.
Throughout the set both Scott Kay on guitar and Matthew Templeman on the bass left the stage to join the moshing crowd as well as spending time playing from the top of the bar, along with lead vocalist Jayme van Keulen. This seemed to impress just about everyone besides the bar staff.
While I managed to catch mentions of songs from their split EP Compass and the single, Affliction Prescription, off their soon to be released debut album, I was rather distracted by the insanity and energy of the band’s stage presence.
Next up was New York locals Stray From The Path, whose strong punk sound and solid fanbase amongst the crowd saw the energy inside the venue continue to build.
Vocalist Drew York called for circle pits, jumping, stage diving and crowd surfing throughout the set, and the crowd well and truly answered him with a continuous stream of fans heading towards the stage before throwing themselves back into the mercy of the mosh. While I was quite happily tucked away from the rapidly growing surge of the crowd towards the stage, those who managed to scream along with York into the mic definitely looked like they got the most out of the set. The highlight of their set was definitely when Adrian Fitipaldes of Northlane joined the band on stage for Bring It Back To The Streets, which created a renewed wave of crowd surfers towards the end of the set.
Structures, the last of the opening bands, managed to pull off an incredible set despite missing their vocalist Nick Xourafas due to passport issues. Filling in for the current tour, the band’s multi-talented tour manager Alex Lidstone, lead the band’s set and is definitely deserving of massive congratulations for his performance.
Fresh from their Canadian tour with Northlane, their set was absolutely flawless and flowed perfectly with the feel of the crowd. Their dynamic stage presence and energetic performance built on the anticipation of the crowd waiting to see Northlane, creating a strong sense of excitement throughout the venue.
Finally, with the venue filled to the brim and the excitement levels of the crowd peaking, Northlane took to the stage with a minor technical glitch during their intro. This did nothing to dampen their entrance or the crowd’s roaring cheers.
Kicking off their set with Genesis and Scarab, Fitipaldes took over the complete attention of everyone present, keeping them captivated throughout the entire set. Windbreaker saw more than half the crowd throwing themselves into a frenzied mosh to match the growing energy levels pouring off the stage.
Fitipaldes took a moment to calm the crowd down in order to dedicate Quantum Flux to a member of the Brisbane show from the previous night who suffered a seizure during the set, with a passionate speech that “being alive is such a beautiful thing lets remind ourselves of that here tonight!” The set continued with Drew York joining the stage during Masquerade, which was also being filmed for the upcoming music video.
While the energy levels of the crowd never really dipped during the set, the combination of filming and York returning to the stage drew the crowd into a rather frenzied several minutes of crowd surfing and stage diving.
The mix of songs from both of Northlane’s albums fitted well with the crowd who knew each song of the setlist and were screaming along to every single word. Overall the most fitting word to describe the show was passionate with the crowd and band alike sharing the energy and emotions behind each song. Unfortunately, as with all shows, Northlane’s set drew to a close and the encore, Dispossession, created an outstanding end to an incredible night.
Bethany Williams