170 Russell played host to hordes of thrash punk and nu-metal fans as Every Time I Die brought their boundless energy and solid lineup to the stage.
Melbourne band In Trenches kicked the night off and demanded we pay attention with their sludgy hardcore metal. Canadians Counterparts burst onstage and refused the crowd of any kind of reprieve as their music whipped the masses into a further frenzy. The room was filling, the crowd was getting cosy and the mosh was becoming the prelude to a death pit.
Then it was time for Californian post-hardcore fellas letlive to take the stage. It was clear that there was a massive following for them at this show – it seemed almost ‘headlinerish’ and frontman Jason Butler was every bit the entertainer you’d expect. The music died down as he began a rendition of Aint No Sunshine before exploding into Another Offensive Song. There were plenty of onstage antics as Butler hauled the entire drum kit forward and twirled his microphone about with abandon. Their energetic track Muther was a crowd pleaser and the punters howled along with the lyrics – can’t beat a good singalong.
Time for headliners Every Time I Die to enter. The fandom kicked up yet another notch – who would have thunk it possible? They started with Glitches and the mosh went wild. There was a steady stream of stage-divers and crowd surfers throughout their whole set. Frontman Keith Buckley condoning (and encouraging) the crowd to stage dive at will and not “let their music dictate when you should crowd surf” before cheekily applauding security for their work ensuring patrons were all safe and sound.
A shoe was tossed onstage, which inspired Buckley to discuss the antics of show-goers as he grappled with the idea that someone would happily leave the gig with only half of their footwear. He either didn’t hear the chants of “shoey” that were beginning, or he expertly deflected the gross-out show gag – as no beverage was consumed via a shoe this night.
The crowd lapped it up, each of their tunes received with loving, sweaty, tattooed arms. The set finished up with Map Change and only seconds were spent between it and the two tracks saved for the encore (Fear and Trembling and Indian Giver) where it seemed the band extended an invite for all present to mount the stage. The crowd had done their job well and the band seemed more than happy to oblige.
A big loud night that left the ears ringing. As it should. As it must.
Words by Asha Collins
Image by Ian Laidlaw
Highlight: Band members surfing the mosh pit and emerging unscathed and $4 pots.
Lowlight: Feeling totally under-tattooed.
Crowd Favourite: The New Black
