There has been much hype about both Calling all Cars and Redcoats over the last while, with both bands having accomplished a great deal in recent times. Calling all Cars have just released a new album entitled Dancing with a Dead Man, not to mention a heavy national touring schedule. Redcoats have been receiving much praise and national airplay with single ‘Dreamshaker’ and have just completed their debut EP. They were also accompanied this evening by Melbourne band, Boy in a Box, and the impressive line up was set to play a hard hitting show on the Fowlers Live stage in Adelaide.
The evening’s show began rather early; doors opened at 7pm and almost instantly, a 100+ person crowd filled up the venue. As for most gigs, Fowlers had very dim lighting and the main floor was lit mainly by light emitting from the stage.
It wasn’t long before Redcoats took the stage – only 40 minutes after doors opened. The audience was already gathered by the stage as the band walked out. The heavily distorted grungy guitars hit and the group opened their set with a detonation of strong energy. Front man, Emilio Mercurio, displayed that he is a charismatic force to be reckoned with from the beginning of the set until the end, always interacting with and entertaining the crowd. However, Mercurio was let down by a common flaw in Fowlers: the vocal mix. Whilst the instruments could be heard with ease, the vocals seemed to suffer.
Recoats played through a very strong set of music, concluding with ‘Dreamshaker’, and left the crowd wanting more after only playing a half hour set. Let’s hope we get a headlining tour from the boys very soon.
Redcoats had now set up the venue for Boy in a Box to win over the crowd. Upon taking the stage, the ultra charismatic band presented a style of music quite different to both Calling All Cars and Redcoats. The combination of upbeat power chords and organ created a sound that showed a very classic rock ‘n’ roll influence. Front man, Tobias Priddle, resembles a cross between a young Bruce Springsteen and James Dean, providing a stronger feel to the band’s sound. Much like Redcoats, the group played a limiting half hour set; unfortunate as the crowd was thoroughly enjoying the music (and the vocals did not seem to be so much of an issue). The audience was especially receptive to the number, ‘Glitter, Gold, Ruin’, a single release from earlier in the year.
As the night went on, it was time for Calling all Cars to take their rightful place on stage for an hour long set. The three piece received a very warm response and displayed a very strong stage presence from the moment they walked out, allowing front man, Haydn Ing, to control the crowd, often having them clap along or get involved in a mosh.
It was evident that the trio are all very talented musicians, especially noticeable between melodic guitar riffs and complementing bass rhythm sections. They played through a strong repertoire of material from their first album as well as their latest work, including tracks such as ‘Chase the Lyrics’, ‘Hold, Hold, Fire’ and crowd favourite, ‘Senses Fail’. It was difficult to see any punter who might have been disappointed, however as previously mentioned, the issue of vocal mixing was ever present during their set. But in spite of this, the group delivered a very strong set and showed why they have been so rightly receiving much praise from the music media.
– Matthew Mercieca
