In recent years the Melbourne-based Saltar Hype booking agency has had great success with its attempts to stage small-scale "festivals" at various points throughout the year in venues across Melbourne. First we had Rock the Bay in March and Swarm in October 2009, then in 2010 a winter edition came along with Showdown at the Corner. Though the billing usually features relatively underground Melbourne (and occasionally interstate) talent, these events are usually quite popular and well-attended by music lovers in Melbourne. This is no doubt due to the events always bringing together a tidy package of great local bands for a very affordable price, and the 2011 edition of Showdown was no different. Headlined by Sydonia and featuring an enticing supporting cast of bands as diverse as Over-reactor, Sleep Parade and Mushroom Giant, punters packed out the Corner bandroom for a Saturday afternoon and night, and enjoyed immensely!
The Corner was looking a little empty though at the start of the day, as Tempting Fate kicked things off, followed by Le Belle, at around 3pm in the afternoon. Unfortunately these bands were somewhat lacking in the originality department, and weren't really impressing the punters that had turned up for some early brews and bands. Both female-fronted, comparisons to the likes of Evanescence came to mind way too quickly, and this is a genre that's just a little bit out of date and wasn't really that interesting in the first place.
The day took a turn for the better though just after 4pm, when Melbourne post-rock luminaries Mushroom Giant took to the stage. The band attracted a mixed response from fans last year when they reintroduced former vocalist/guitarist David Gogerly back into the band, recording an EP and playing several live dates as a five-piece. The "controversy" (if you will) resulted from the fact that the band was most known for their stunningly beautiful album Kuru, which had been recorded without Gog (as he's affectionately known) and had for the most part, been completely devoid of vocals. Fans really appreciated that particular style, and introducing a vocalist into the band had got a few people offside. However, the band have only just recently reverted to their Kuru instrumental lineup (including the return of David Charlton; a show in December last year was billed as his "last" with the group), and fans were very happy to see this lineup back in action on the Corner stage today, with one enthusiastic punter shouting out "Why aren't you headlining?!" A 30 minute set hardly seemed enough for a band whose repertoire is based on pieces that evolve over a gradual time frame - as a lot of post-rock tends to do - rather than just a to-the-point verse-chorus structure. Nevertheless, they did their best and played a good selection of material, including a track which was presumed to be new entitled Comasphere. The quartet concluded the set with the first two parts of the trilogy contained on tracks 8-10 on Kuru, the more reflective and gentle Woman Heroin and its intense conclusion Poor Tom, featuring dizzying blasts of rapid-fire riffs and drumming. As usual, they had set up a projector which displayed various psychedelic imagery which perfectly accompanied their atmospheric soundscapes.
SETLIST:
The Drake Equation
Comasphere
400 and Falling
Woman Heroin / Poor Tom
Up next was more another disappointingly unoriginal set, this time from a band by the name of InVolume. Despite being a very energetic group and appearing very comfortable onstage, their overall sound was more than a little off-putting - it soon became clear that these guys had probably picked up instruments around the same time that nu metal was popular, and in this day and age, that is NOT a good thing. Granted, a lot of bands in the current Melbourne scene have had their sound shaped by that late 90s/early 2000s wave of bands, but the ones that have been most successful are those that have managed to put their own spin on things and create something unique. Hence, a band that sounded an awful lot like Disturbed were never going to impress those who had come to see some more interesting talent. They do deserve points for stage presence though.
After their set it was about 5:30pm, and the bandroom crowd was growing noticeably, in anticipation for some truly awesome acts to come later in the night. The quality of bands on show was starting to grow too, and Branch Arterial got a solid response for their progressive-tinged rock numbers. Despite obvious similarities to their contemporaries such as The Butterfly Effect, there's undoubtedly a whole lot of talent in this band, and being a relatively new band, they still have plenty of opportunity to make a mark in this particular scene. They are definitely one to watch. Following their set, it was the bizarre and unique sounds of Xenograft that left a definite impression on the crowd, even if for a lot of people that impression was one of "...Huh?" For those that haven't seen these guys in action, there's six of them onstage, including saxophone and keyboards, and though their influences aren't immediately apparent, one could assume from their spontaneous free-jazz-meets-metal freakouts that they might perhaps be fans of the likes of Mr Bungle and Frank Zappa. Probably the most forward-thinking band Showdown had to offer, to be sure.
At the 2009 Swarm Festival, a relatively young Melbourne band by the name of Anna Salen won themselves a whole heap of new fans with their highly unique and technical blend of math-rock/progressive metal fusion. Though that microphone onstage is only used for between-song banter (and occasional nonsensical non-lyrical chants), after support slots with the likes of Jericco and Engine Three Seven, the regular Melbourne gig followers have quickly welcomed the instrumental trio affectionately known as Anna into their hearts, as evident tonight with the increasing number of punters adorned with the band's t-shirt. The boys riffed and grooved their way through a stomping set, with some old favourites and potential new classics getting an airing to a very appreciative crowd.
A little while later, Melbourne's very own "supergroup" in The Khyber Belt made their way out onto the stage, with many of the audience looking forward to seeing what they'd deliver, now they've notched up a few shows on their belt (no pun intended). Though they only formed late last year, they drew attention to themselves immediately with a lineup consisting of former members of Rook (vocalist Forbes McKail and guitarist Tyson Fish), Bushido (guitarist Guy Shenfield and drummer Alex Dinic) and Sleep Parade (bassist James Livesy; coincidentally his former band were also on this lineup), and they got a very rousing response at their very first gig earlier this year at Rock the Bay. McKail acknowledged that "some of you might recognise us from other bands we've been in", yet through their set they quickly proved that the new band is a force to reckon with in itself - the five guys were obviously a lot more stage-ready than before (and thankfully the technical problems that plagued Shenfield at RtB were non-existent) and they showed a new level of skill with a fresh batch of new tunes. McKail promised an EP in the works sometime soon, and although it seems like a lot of bands feel obligated to make these kind of statements no matter how much intention they have delivering them, the crowd assembled definitely hoped those words would count for something soon.
If there was any doubt about the bands that had taken to the stages up until this point, the next act on the bill proved that it was now very much the business end of the evening - it was the no-nonsense death-hop fury of Over-reactor. Fresh off a national tour with Perth heroes Karnivool, vocalist Ezekiel Ox and drummer/studio-guitarist-meets-live sample-man Cory Blight had gained themselves a whole lot of new fans and a new level of respect for those who had already been familiar with them. For many in the audience, the memories were still fresh from Karnivool's Melbourne shows, when Over-reactor had performed in this very room, and indeed wowed an audience who had probably expected to turn up early and enjoy a few quiet brews - instead they were assaulted by some truly brutal riffs (coming from a laptop no less) and had Ox literally yelling in their faces. Tonight however, the band were a little more subdued, with Ox electing to remain on the stage for the entire duration of the set (not something he does often!) and let the crowd decide whether or not they would get into the Over-reactor sound. Which, for the most part, they did. The setlist was similar to the Karnivool tour, with the best tunes out of the band's double album getting an airing, such as Control of This, Nu Metal Motherfuckers and of course, Something More. Something that was a little different was Ox deciding to get a little artistic during the set - an easel had been set up at the back of the stage, and between songs, Ox picked up a spray can and painted various colorful things on a piece of paper, before auctioning it off at the end of the set. Something you don't see too often, to be sure.
SETLIST:
Control of This
Handfed
Call in the Bombers
Free Music
Naked Words
Word
The Gangbangers
Point to Push
All Shields Down
Something More
The energy levels in the room were continuing to rise, and the next act on the bill were a favourite for many - the former Byron Bay lads now calling Melbourne home, Engine Three Seven. Getting things off to a flying start with older number Win 4 Me, the crowd expected big things of these guys, as their reputation has certainly preceded them and they haven't disappointed on a live stage in recent times. The first part of the show was mostly based on their first EP, but a very special moment came when frontman Casey Dean announced that they were going to play one they hadn't played in a very long time - one of their newer songs that didn't make the cut for the Atmosphere EP, an uptempo rocking number by the name of Erasure that was a staple in sets a few years back, but fell off the radar recently. It had been a while since the fans had heard it, but they recognised the familiar riff and were very happy to welcome it back into their hearts on this evening! They followed it up with another rarely-played-live track, but a favourite nonetheless, in the acoustic-based Retrospect, before the set moved focus to the Atmosphere EP. The show came to its end with the favourites, including the title track, Cops, Have it All and of course, Hysterical Hysteria to close. An accurate description of the crowd, perhaps!
SETLIST:
Win 4 Me
Automatic Everything
Easy Graceful Descent
Erasure (first time since January 2010!)
Retrospect
Atmosphere
Cops
Have it All
Hysterical Hysteria
It was time for the night to take a slightly more reflective and proggy turn, with the next on the bill being Sleep Parade. They have certainly taken their time getting another album out into the world, and in recent live shows they've been testing the waters with a lot of new material, which has gone over well at some shows and not so well at others. Tonight however, they'd play one of their better sets, helped out on second guitar and keys by the amazingly talented Red Black of A State of Flux. His presence really helps the band get a more full sound, certainly evident on tracks like Everyday where his keyboard hammering only served to make frontman Leigh Davies' guitar solo sound even more impressive. As expected, the band's newer and more mature sounding material got a fairly solid go during the set, but for the older fans there was Passengers and of course, the regular set-closing epic Weeping Walls. No matter how many times you've seen it, it's always fun to watch that final moment in the song where Davies sings into his guitar pickups to make that incredible solo. This was one of their best sets from recent memory, and hopefully is an indication of good progress on the forthcoming album!
SETLIST:
Mr Identify
Everyday
Collision
Moments
Passengers
Home
Weeping Walls
It was certainly getting a bit late in the evening (in fact, it was now pushing into the small hours of Sunday) but the punters had plenty of energy left for the final performance - when that band is called Sydonia, there has to be something left over! The band started their set with guitarist Sam Haycroft and bassist Adam Murray positioned at their oversized custom percussion drums, which meant that nobody was surprised that it was Adornment that opened the set! But as one of Sydonia's more popular tunes, it was definitely a good choice to get the crowd amped and ready for what would turn out to be another belter in Sydonia's recent run of excellent shows! Numerous times, the band mentioned their long-awaited second album (apparently they've actually booked studio time now), and were more than willing to air some new material, including not-so-new-anymore favourite Sinner, which hadn't been played for quite some time before this show. Also in the "songs making a comeback" department was a surprise rendition of Dream Kiss, apparently at the request of some hardcore Sydonia fans. Old favourites such as No Woman's Land and 3 Tongues got the crowd singing along, until finally it all wound down, predictably, with a shout of INCOMING! The crowd was pretty wrecked at the end of a long day's rocking, but Sydonia sets have been extremely high on quality lately, and this was no exception. So at the end of the night, the feeling in the room was that it was all totally worth our necks hurting!
SETLIST:
Adornment
Sinner
No Woman's Land
Dream Kiss
TL
3 Tongues
Ocean of Storms
Shame
Taste More
Crash Here Tonight
Incoming
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