The night started off with a passionate appearance by local psychedelic Adelaide band Lady Strangelove. Their impeccable timing, swiftly executed Omar Rodriguez-Lopez style guitar riffs and unpredictable movements in their songs hypnotized the crowd. The band was bursting with energy that seemed never ending – with a surprising amount of it coming from the bassist, who had just recently broken into hives. This band certainly proved to the crowd that they were worthy of an opening slot of an international band, if not more.
Following Lady Strangelove was another local band – Coerce. They were on the other side of the musical spectrum, with their sound fusing hardcore, screamo and metal. Such a fusion of genres has been done before – many times – but the key thing about their act was that they showed the crowd how possible it is for a band to sound so musically unique and familiar at the same time. Coerce are definitely a band to look out for if you’ve got cravings for a local hardcore show that won’t disappoint.
Finally the band everyone was waiting for briskly walked out on stage. The floor filled up with eager fans, and Russian Circles picked up their instruments. With the stage lights off and a shady atmosphere surrounding them, they initiated a musical overture, which ended up turning into one of their classic songs – ‘Harper Lewis’. The track exploded midway through, with the whole crowd banging their heads to the thumping of the powerful bass line.
The band played around six songs, which is a lot for a band with an average song length of about eight minutes. Between each song was a light interlude, filled with layering of guitar riffs and just the right amount of intensity. The guys literally did not stop playing from the start of their set until the end, which is remarkable.
One of the most unique things about their performance was a lack of vocal microphone. This meant that there was no banter between songs, no farewell at the end of their set and no way to show their gratitude to their encouraging fans – just three boys with nothing but their instruments. This definitely put a twist on things, as it felt like there was a glass wall between the audience and band. No matter how much the fans cheered, clapped and shouted, the band just played like they were in their own private rehearsal room.
– Tom Gaffney
