For the latest stop on their Controller National Tour, British India returned to their spiritual home with a sold out gig at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel.
Support came from Perth’s The Love Junkies, who set the tone for the night with their fuzzy, grungy and blues-infused rock.
Having already opened for the likes of Band Of Skulls, The Vasco Era, and Papa Vs Pretty, and with their debut album due in June, the trio are building an impressive reputation, and look set for a big 2013.
Tracks like the shouty yet catchy ‘Maybelene’ and ‘90s-style scorcher ‘Oxymoron’ have been doing the rounds for a while now, and were well received.
With new album Controller recently providing their third Top 10 hit, British India are currently in high demand and by the time they came on stage the crowd had swelled to near over-flowing.
Having cast aside his customary hoodie to look unusually well groomed, frontman Declan Melia at first seemed somewhat sheepish in front of the packed audience.
Indeed, the band in general often appear bemused by their success, but if ever there was a way for them to return to their comfort zone, a gig at The Corner was surely it.
Despite the full house, their opening tracks fell awkwardly flat and the muted reaction to upbeat Hottest 100 hit ‘March Into The Ocean’ was particularly strange.
In the absence of their usual rawness, the familiar sound of Melia aiming for – and missing – a high note on ‘Summer Forgive Me’ was oddly welcome, and signaled the return of the old British India.
From there the band, and the crowd, grew into the gig, becoming increasingly energetic as they stormed through a typically aggressive set.
The remainder of the new tracks sat comfortably amongst the older, with the band’s enthusiastic, unembellished delivery and the absence of some studio flourishes turning the more pop-tinged songs into lively rock numbers.
From Controller, ‘Another Christmas In The Trenches’ and ‘Plastic Souvenirs’ were standouts, with Melia’s drawling and sometimes snarling vocals being particularly effective, while the slower ballad ‘I Can Make You Love Me’ prompted a hoarse, venue-wide sing-along.
This being The Corner though, nothing could match their earlier, much loved material and perennial live favourites ‘Vanilla’, ‘Run The Red Light’ and ‘God Is Dead (Meet The Kids)’ were nothing short of huge, proving that while their sound might be evolving, British India have lost none of their youthful exuberance.
‘Safari’, the brutal opening track off 2010’s Avalanche, introduced a heavier feel to the evening, with its meaty bassline and screamed chorus, before the lads finished up, as ever, with live specialty ‘This Aint No Fucking Disco / Black And White Radio’.
Dispensing with the now widespread practice of pre-planned encores, they crammed it all into one seamless set that just kept on building, perfectly judging their departure to coincide with the night’s peak.
