Parkway Drive promised their 20th anniversary tour would be “special,” and at John Cain Arena on Tuesday night, they redefined what is possible for Australian bands in staging an arena rock show.
Production wise, performance wise and atmosphere wise, this band which already had a storied live reputation delivered an experience that was on another level. This was a show of outdoor stadium quality inside a 10,000 seat arena.
The Byron Bay titans had three bands join them for warm-up duties – Void of Vision, The Ghost Inside, and I Prevail. Logistical dramas stopped the first two acts from performing in Sydney and at Sunday night’s first Melbourne show, but tonight they made it to the stage.
Train cancellations prevented yours truly from catching 90 per cent of their sets, but The Ghost Inside seemed like they had done their job when I arrived, closing with “Aftermath” and “Engine 45.” I Prevail gave us a taste of the amazing production to come with some fantastic visuals across five screens, often with lyrics bursting out. Their ferocious cover of Taylor Swift‘s “Blank Space” pleased many, as did big hits like “Self Destruction,” “Choke,” and closer “Gasoline.”
After making their way through the crowd to a B-stage, Parkway Drive began with favourites “Carrion” and “Prey,” before unveiling a colossal stage setup, its centrepiece being a catwalk which descended down from above and linked the two stages together.
Everything about this show signified this band’s evolution from a bunch of mates who thrashed around in youth centres to polished stadium rockers. Aside from the avalanche of pyro and sharp lighting, there were dancers adding theatrics on tracks like “Glitch” and “The Void,” and string musicians plugged in and shining on epics like “Chronos” and “Darker Still.”
Frontman Winston McCall commanded things largely from the B-Stage, but when they weren’t thrashing away at the back, the remaining band members also used the catwalk to show off their instrumental prowess or join him up there for a spotlight moment.
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This had as many bells and whistles as a KISS concert, except McCall didn’t jump on a zip line to go perform a track on a satellite stage. Instead, he just popped up randomly in the back mosh pit upon roadies’ shoulders, belted out “Idols and Anchors,” and crowd surfed his way back to the stage.
Guitarist Jeff Ling didn’t need to spit out fake blood like Gene Simmons either; he just soared into the sky on the catwalk while belting out the solo to “Horizons,” with sparklers coming off each side on its descent. Drummer Ben Gordon also performed his trademark upside down revolving drum solo, prior to the band somehow not setting off the arena’s smoke alarms with an avalanche of flames during “Crushed.”
Among a career-spanning setlist, arguably the most fan-pleasing moment of the night came with a medley of the best bits from the band’s first EP, Killing with a Smile. Fittingly included for a 20th anniversary celebration, it also sparked the most frenetic moments in an already wild mosh pit synonymous with the band’s shows.
Another fitting moment came when Michael Crafter joined for guest vocals on “Boneyards” – with McCall stating that none of this would have been possible if Crafter hadn’t picked the band to support him and I Killed the Prom Queen on a tour 20 years ago.
Parkway Drive already have a legacy within the Australian heavy music scene, but this show and this tour might just be their crowning moment: it established a new benchmark for what an Australian band – of any genre – is capable of delivering inside an arena. Don’t be surprised to see them replicating this in an outdoor stadium in another 5 to 10 years’ time – and if it eventuates, don’t hesitate to grab a ticket.
Parkway Drive’s 20th anniversary tour heads to Adelaide on Friday, September 27th, and Perth on Monday, September 30th. Ticket information is available via destroyalllines.com.
