It baffles me that with Soundwave only a week after this gig and a city bursting with talented local artists
It baffles me that with Soundwave only a week after this gig and a city bursting with talented local artists, they couldn’t find a suitable supporting act for One Day As A Lion. The sold-out gig attracted a room full of heavy metal band t-shirts and full-sleeve tattoos, and yet we were forced to stand around for an hour listening to a DJ set comprising of cheesy ’80s disco and flaky techno music.
It wasn’t the ideal way to get the crowd amped before a big show, especially for a band that brings together two highly-reputable musicians in their own rights – of course I’m speaking of Jon Theodore, former drummer for The Mars Volta and Zach De La Rocha, lead singer of the epic Rage Against The Machine.
Theodore hits the stage first to assist with sound-check, opening with a thundering drum solo that eventually leads into If You Fear Dying. De La Rocha explodes on stage, filled with an energy that has the crowd jumping and pumping our fists to the roof.
His signature vocals remain intact, and shudder through the room as he screams the chorus line "If you fear dying… then you’re already dead!"
The duo would sound a lot better with live guitar but instead the bass-heavy riffs are controlled by some young kid on a synthesiser. De La Rocha assists with a second synth for an extended intro to Ocean View and the drumming from Theodore is incredible – just watching him pour sweat makes me feel exhausted.
The room temperature rises with the energy of the crowd as De La Rocha moves back to the mic and gallops around stage, encouraging us to scream along. As though he’s addressing a sermon, De La Rocha expresses his gratitude for the massive turnout and support – "This is not being Skyped or on YouTube. You’re here. The moment is in the memory!"
The set ends with their two biggest songs, the first single Wild International and the self-titled One Day As A Lion. De La Rocha smiles to himself as the crowd chants along word for word, inspiring him to up the ante even more and screams at the top of his lungs.
His voice shouldn’t have been confined to such a small venue and would have been more powerful in the open-air at Soundwave. It’s the kind of thing you want to hear echo for miles, so that people on the other side of town can hear it and wish they were there.
The over-excited crowd try their hardest for an encore but are momentarily disappointed. After an extended wait the band re-emerges with one last song, Peart Plus. De La Rocha seems glad to be performing again and celebrates by launching himself into the crowd and hi-fiving everyone.
Rage Against The Machine at Big Day Out is still the greatest gig I have ever been to – and while One Day As A Lion aren’t in the same league, they’re definitely making some noise of their own.
Loved: 100% of proceeds going towards flood victims in Queensland.
Hated: The venue website saying "…with Special Guests" and thinking it could be someone worthwhile, I rocked up an hour early.
Drank: By myself… *cough* Loser!
