It was a bit confusing, walking up to The Corner from under the bridge near Punt Road. Despite pleasant weather on the trek to Richmond, there appeared to be an isolated shower drizzling mist over Swan Street. But as the pounding techno beats denoted, it was just the seepage of smoke machine from Kangaroo Skull doing what they do best. The band room was a sea of mist and intense strobes, but disappointingly, the volume was at a level where you didn’t have to strain to make conversation. Even so, it’s a pretty damn impressive spectacle – despite the setting of an early Wednesday night.
Seekae stepped up their visual game in a big way, decking out the stage with an elaborate lighting setup which escalated in its capacity throughout the set. Opening with a selection of cuts from the very excellent +Dome, the trio then introduced a run of vocal-adorned tracks. The newer material was somewhat more honed than what was debuted at Vivid LIVE a few months back, with vocal duties primarily being taken on by percussionist Alex Cameron, rather than shared between the trio. The embracement of vocals has resulted in the band breaching strange new territories, from sick early ‘90s techno to something resembling post-dubstep
The band kicked off their encore with Yech, not before prefacing with the disclaimer, “It’s changed a bit since you last heard it.” Indeed, the rave characteristics of the track have been ramped up to great effect, plus Cameron sounds more assured in his vocal delivery. Seekae then closed off the night with a rendition of The Sound Of Trees Falling On People cut Void. The fervent reaction to each of the band’s established tracks, plus the positive reception to their new material, is a strange phenomenon, but most definitely a deserved one.
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
LOVED: 3, and the crowd’s reaction to 3.
HATED: Just needed to be that little bit louder.
DRANK: Beer in a bottle.
