Violent Soho, Straight Arrows @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (04/11/2013)
My journey to Violent Soho's set at the Corner hotel was a long and problematic one, and one I completely forgot as soon as I entered the venue. Caught up in the excited air of the budding audience, I couldn't help but be immersed. After all, this show had been sold out mere weeks after its announcement, so only the most diehard of fans had come to support the Brisbane garage rock trope.
Sydney born garage rock band Screaming Arrows had an interesting stage dynamic, sadly I found their actual material lacklustre at best. The twin jangling guitars were clashing at the best of times, overwhelming the rest of the band as they played.
The songs themselves were a bland, formulaic replication of the same twangy guitar based rock that has become all so popular in recent years, and despite some fairly interesting drumming, the whole thing just felt like a second rate Wavves clone. Still, the rest of the audience gave a fond reception of banging heads and raised fists, so they at least got hype up. They left the stage to a filled Corner.
At last after what felt like hours of waiting, the house lights fell and the audience went into a hush, if only to explode a few seconds later as Violent Soho took to the stage. With a drum intro that shook the floor, the band launched into Dope Calypso of their new album Hungry Ghost, which sent the crowd into a flurry of skinny fists and flannel shirts.
The first verse of the night had barely finished before the crowd surfers and stage divers arrived, further adding to the chaos driven by those thunderous drums and sharp snapping vocals. By the time the first song was over, everyone in the rooms was bruised in some way. And still they played on.
The band writhed and withered around the stage with every note, reflecting the crowd’s enthusiasm. Between the soaring and screeching vocals of singer Luke Boerdam, guitarist James Tidswell blasted out tearing riffs over a bass line that sounded as if giants were slamming against the walls of the hotel.
Despite being a relatively young band on the scene, the band still had an extensive back catalogue to work with. From Jesus Stole my Girlfriend off their first LP to In The Aisle off this year’s Hungry Ghost, they still kept the same energy and feel as the rest of the set list, reworking old favourites subtly to suit their more experienced sound. The production of the night was also fantastic with each note crisp, each voice slightly tinged with an edge of distortion and as I said previously, with the bass and drums packing a punch.
Though every show is not without qualms, and this was no different. While the material they covered was expansive, they most certainly could have performed a much longer set. Furthermore, while it is great to see an active crowd, there were points in which it seemed to get a bit too wild and it would have been nice to see the band to call them out on this.
Still, even with these issues, I found myself grinning stupidly as I left. I dare say there were quite a few people singing about setting fires on the way home, because I was now one of them.
Ben Spencer
Sydney born garage rock band Screaming Arrows had an interesting stage dynamic, sadly I found their actual material lacklustre at best. The twin jangling guitars were clashing at the best of times, overwhelming the rest of the band as they played.
The songs themselves were a bland, formulaic replication of the same twangy guitar based rock that has become all so popular in recent years, and despite some fairly interesting drumming, the whole thing just felt like a second rate Wavves clone. Still, the rest of the audience gave a fond reception of banging heads and raised fists, so they at least got hype up. They left the stage to a filled Corner.
At last after what felt like hours of waiting, the house lights fell and the audience went into a hush, if only to explode a few seconds later as Violent Soho took to the stage. With a drum intro that shook the floor, the band launched into Dope Calypso of their new album Hungry Ghost, which sent the crowd into a flurry of skinny fists and flannel shirts.
The first verse of the night had barely finished before the crowd surfers and stage divers arrived, further adding to the chaos driven by those thunderous drums and sharp snapping vocals. By the time the first song was over, everyone in the rooms was bruised in some way. And still they played on.
The band writhed and withered around the stage with every note, reflecting the crowd’s enthusiasm. Between the soaring and screeching vocals of singer Luke Boerdam, guitarist James Tidswell blasted out tearing riffs over a bass line that sounded as if giants were slamming against the walls of the hotel.
Despite being a relatively young band on the scene, the band still had an extensive back catalogue to work with. From Jesus Stole my Girlfriend off their first LP to In The Aisle off this year’s Hungry Ghost, they still kept the same energy and feel as the rest of the set list, reworking old favourites subtly to suit their more experienced sound. The production of the night was also fantastic with each note crisp, each voice slightly tinged with an edge of distortion and as I said previously, with the bass and drums packing a punch.
Though every show is not without qualms, and this was no different. While the material they covered was expansive, they most certainly could have performed a much longer set. Furthermore, while it is great to see an active crowd, there were points in which it seemed to get a bit too wild and it would have been nice to see the band to call them out on this.
Still, even with these issues, I found myself grinning stupidly as I left. I dare say there were quite a few people singing about setting fires on the way home, because I was now one of them.
Ben Spencer