Those who have previously been willing enough to venture into a pop-punk show have no doubt discovered that they usually smash the energetic meter to pieces. The lively sound, enthusiasm and overall passion that radiates from the majority of performers of this genre more often than not get the crowd moving as if they were puppets in a circus act, and there is no Australian pop punk band who can do this better than the Mission in Motion. Fresh from being one of the few local bands to join the Soundwave circuit, they were more than ready to carve up Adelaide’s Enigma bar.
Local quintet Capulet ticked all of the above boxes and definitely proved worthy of their opening spot. Their fast paced, never-miss-a-beat instrumentals layered under vocals with clarity and range that only a true veteran would have, left everyone in the room completely astonished.
Up next were main openers Jonesez, who were something a little different. They played a mixture of fast ’80s rock mixed with a little bit of Jebediah and, dare I say, ‘50s swing. Their songs were catchy if nothing else and they managed to influence the few front rows into pulling off some pretty energetic dancing.
Despite the Mission in Motion stopping over in Adelaide at least four times this year, they managed to open with something more absurd than ever before. A recording of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” started playing, turning the crowd into a pop-up a capella group. This continued until right before the big finale, where drums came out of nowhere and the quintet started playing their opening song.
Following this, they played their latest single “Control” to a handful of cheers. The crowd – a complete split of boys and girls – seemed to really get into it through this song, singing along to the memorable lyrics.
One of the notable features of a Mission in Motion performance is that so much material gets crammed into a forty-or so minute set, it feels like it’s over before it really begins. With a few new songs spread throughout a set that was primarily made up of their debut LP Somewhere Safe, they ended with an anecdote about their previous experience in Adelaide.
With half the band in hysterics, the others proceeded to explain that guitarist Kent got extremely drunk at the Soundwave after-party, which was hosted at the night’s venue, and lost his shirt which led to three hours of every single taxi rejecting his call to take him to the hotel room due to how “drunk and homeless he looked.”
Finally, they closed with their most popular track “New Skin”. At singer Brett Islaub’s command, the crowd sung at the top of their lungs to the final chorus which was a perfect end to an overly energetic show.
– Tom Gaffney
