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Destroy All Lines

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Gig ReviewsReviews
October 12, 2023
Jessie Fitzpatrick

[Review] Waterparks @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 8/10/2023

Review By Jessie Fitzpatrick

Last Sunday, the line to the Forum snaked all the way into Hosier Lane and beyond, with no end in sight. Passers-by stared at the colourfully-dressed crowd and the endless line, as I saw first-hand the demand that Australian fans have for genre-blending pop/rock trio Waterparks.

The packed crowd was ecstatic, as support-act Lights (Canadian electro-pop/rock artist Valerie Poxleitner) opened in a sweeping, cinematic fashion with rock number Salt and Vinegar. Lights captured the audience immediately, with strong vocals and melodies that managed to feel both nostalgic and fresh (a talent shared with the headliner, Waterparks). Throughout her set, Lights seamlessly moved from electro pop, to rock, to alt pop. The following number, Siberia, was a distinctly early 2010s indie pop song – but her performance felt timeless, as she added in a new line to the lyric “we'll leave Canada for Siberia” – “or Australia”.

Lights excelled at bringing the audience along for a journey. She transitioned from guitar, to keys, and back to singing while dancing non-stop, moving straight into Dead End, which again captured a different side of her vocals. Even when a looped track of her voice played in the background of the song, her live vocals sounded phenomenal. An audience member handed her a flower, and she put it in her pocket, the red petals falling around the stage as she danced. After hyping up the crowd, Lights shifted to a sadder song, Beside Myself. People got out their phone lights and began to sway slowly, but the pace of the song gradually increased – leading Lights to comment that “people here have way better time than North America”. Her set ended in a crescendo of sound, and left the audience on a high, full of anticipation for the headline act.

Waterparks began their set in a flurry of energy, as lead singer and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight arrived on stage in what appeared to be a Bunnings hat over his bright pink hair (foreshadowing a night of jokes about Australian accents and culture from the Houston-originated band), accompanied by lead guitarist Geoff Wigington, and drummer Otto Wood. Each band member’s energetic stage presence was immediately infectious, as the band launched into Rare, singing “I save my metaphors for rainy days……cause we're not seventeen, but you're my teenage dream”. The cleverness and self-awareness behind these lyrics highlighted a strong knowledge of their pop-punk and pop rock predecessors and influences. Otto paused his steady drumming to highlight a slow guitar riff from Geoff, and I felt the floor move as the crowd jumped in response to Geoff spinning in a circle on stage alongside Awsten, creating an electrifying atmosphere.

Waterparks (or in particular, Awsten) were one of the chattiest acts I had seen in a long time. Awsten reminisced about a previous concert in Australia where the band performed for about 100 people in a tiny attic (“now we get to play in air-conditioned venues!”), before they transitioned into fan-favourite, Stupid for you. Stupid for you is a song of a juvenile love, undercut with adult tones. With lyrics such as “you're a symphony, I'm just a sour note”, I felt like it belonged in an early 2000s high school comedy in the best way, maybe in the prom scene. When Awsten sang the chorus, the sound of the audience harmonising complimented his voice perfectly, and he joked “you guys sound great – have you been practising?”. It had been 6 years since Waterparks’ last visit to Australia (“I’ll take a boo for that…we had a tour planned for 2020, something happened but I forgot what” Awsten joked). The Melbourne show was their 4th show in a row without a day off, and although the band was upfront about being tired, you couldn’t notice – their energy remained unwavering, as Brainwashed showed off Awsten‘s vocal range, combining mellower instrumentals with verses that leaned towards being a rap.

 Waterparks continued to showcase their musical versatility, as they debuted their new song Sneaking Out of Heaven, “before America or Canada have heard it”. This felt particularly special for the adoring Melbourne audience. Sneaking Out of Heaven started strong and packed a punch. The snappy track seamlessly integrated into their discography – this is a new release to watch out for. This was followed by more of the band’s camaraderie on display, as they played Two Best Friends – an autobiographical song about the band’s friendship, as the three bandmates rocked out together to the sound of a steady bass drum.

Their performance of Magnetic took on a more intense turn, with the fast-paced vocals melding with the heaviness of the drums. Awsten’s deliberate movements and stage presence was captivating, as the sci-fi sound effects on the backing track added an eerie ambiance to the song.

“Do you want to hear a song I used to practise in the mirror at my parent’s house in Houston?”, Awsten asked the audience, as he launched into Royal. In another pivot from some of Waterparks’ more light hearted pop-punk tracks, this song commanded a focused energy. Awsten then conspiratorially told the crowd that “the percussion layer in the song is us [the bandmates] kissing Otto’s stomach – you can hear it if you listen to the song with headphones”.

Awsten seemed chuffed as he told the audience about the band's song Telephone being featured in an episode of the TV series, Heartstopper, as he coyly sang the hopeful lyrics. The set then pivoted to a short burst of acoustic numbers – 21 Questions showcased a different genre and mood , and called attention to Awsten’s guitar expertise. In Dizzy, Awsten haunted the stage alone, as he sang the lyrics “I don’t hear from my friends anymore”. Lucky People saw the crowd illuminating the venue with their phone lights. These solo performances were a poignant interlude amid many fast-paced numbers. Then, Geoff and Otto returned to the stage with cheers from the crowd, and the band jumped into the self-referential REAL SUPER DARK. Awsten pretended to stumble around the stage, as the lighting became dream-like. Waterparks certainly knew how to capture a mood.

The crowd had been waiting for the band to play their highest-streamed song, I Miss Having Sex But at Least I Don't Wanna Die Anymore, and Waterparks delivered. They sounded even better live, with the band in perfect alignment. The concert concluded on a high note, leaving the audience elated and relishing in the humour and musical magic of Waterparks.

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Gig ReviewsReviews
October 6, 2023
Kynan Arden

[Review] Ghost @ John Cain Arena 04/10/2023

Whether you’re a Christian, Satanist, Pagan, or devote your life to any spiritual realm, it has always been clear to me the Ghost has always reached diverse audiences around the world. The satanic aesthetic created by Papa Emeritus IV and his cult of Nameless Ghouls has always drawn my wandering eyes to fix on them, whilst also seducing my ears to their incredible sound. Seeing this group live amongst the face-painted and costume clad fans was a sight to worship.

After a slightly delayed wait with a holy voices of a cathedral choir echoing from behind the white drapes that concealed the stage, the opening acoustic licks of Imperium were almost drowned out by the screaming of the packed John Cain Arena, all before the silhouette of a certain axe-shredding ghoul appeared colossal on the white curtain as he jammed the upbeat opening riff to Kaisarion. The curtains dropped whilst the ghouls brought on an anthem for Papa himself to grace the stage, blessing us with iconic vocals that you could identify in a second.

A quintessential Ghost performance is always nothing short of a jaw-dropping spectacle, from the set design of a cathedral depicting at first holy imagery on stained class to later depict hellish imagery towards the climax of the show, all the way down to the light-work that perfectly complimented the backdrop of each individual track, an example being the appropriate deep red as the opening of Year One chanted the many names of our favourite horned red man: 

“BELIAL. BEHEMOTH. BEELZEBUB. ASMODEUS. SATANAS. LUCIFER”

But despite each nameless ghoul getting moments to shine throughout the show, it’s obvious who the prominent character was, as Papa Emeritus had all of our eyes completely glued to him from start to finish. As highlighted previously, his vocal style and genius lyricism has cultivated its own powerful authenticity and has been become iconic within the music community let alone the rock/metal genres, reaching its height especially in the slower yet still hard tracks like Cirice and Call Me Little Sunshine. His swift costume changes were also a sight to behold, as each short interval between each track had him emerging with something new, including a steampunk top-hat, shadow-casting bat wings, his of course iconic elegant and gothic Pope outfit, all the way down to his shining red and blue “after show jackets”.

The humour and banter between the band members never failed to make me chuckle, from Papa’s charismatic humour between songs or the playful scolding of either of the soloing guitarists. We even received a cameo from a longtime Ghost character, Papa Nihil, emerging disorderly from a glass box to performing an earth shattering saxophone solo during Miasma, right before Papa uses this to segway into the next track in which “Nihil sings”, this track being the iconic Mary On A Cross, and it matters not whether you were a ghost fan before this track circled the world, or became a fresh listener of the band after the track’s popularity across TikTok, there’s no doubt every soul in the arena belted every single lyric, myself included. 

As the climax approached, Papa gave a little speech in appreciation of the community and support all before announcing the final song for the night, Respite on the Spitefields, before Ghost departed the stage….all for a short while before Papa re-emerged in response to the call-out of the audience, bantering over being told about us “expecting a classic rock show with an encore”. The charismatic frontman agreed to the crowd’s demand for three more songs (not too fond of a front row “crazy lady’s” suggestion of five songs), before the lights revealed the remaining ghouls in the darkness kicking off the encore with the ever risqué Kiss the Go-Goat. The remaining two songs required our strengthened necks for head banging and dancing shoes, for the lights radiated and glimmered with a colourful disco palate for the upbeat Dance Macabre, transitioning ever so smoothly alongside a final thanks from Papa Emeritus into the enigmatic yet powerful Square Hammer, in which the volume of the opening riff had to compete with the screams of the crowd one final time. 

As Ghost finally departed from the stage and instructing us to “fuck off” as well, I was positively buzzing for the rest of the night, as I had been apart of a mass ritual that I will not forget anytime soon, a ritual which should be experienced at least once in a lifetime…

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Gig ReviewsReviews
September 25, 2023
Cassandra Hale

[Review] Punk Rock Factory @ Stay Gold 23/09/2023

A beautiful Melbourne day saw the punters turning out early for a night of wicked punked up covers with UK’s Punk Rock Factory. With the line snaking around to Sydney Road, Melbourne Music haunt Stay Gold was going to be pumping, so I jumped in line quickly to ensure I saw all the nights entertainment. Melbourne five piece Among The Restless opened the proceedings to a rapidly filling room. It was fantastic to see so many people coming early to take in all the bands and enjoy a bevie or two.

Among The Restless are no strangers to Stay Gold and it was evident from the get-go that they felt right at home. Giving us a quick-fire set of five they had heads nodding and people dancing from their opening song Torn. They are an energetic lot, instantly engaging, quicky winning over the crowd as they worked through their set. Lucy seemed to hit the spot as people progressed towards the stage keen to see a bit more of what Among The Restless had to offer. Finishing out with Someone Else their first single from back in 2020, they certainly made some new fans along with the ones I saw singing throughout their time on stage. Definitely one to check for an exciting live performance.

Also based in Melbourne are alt/pop punk group PAPERWEIGHT. Offering a red hot thirty-minute set, they left nothing in the tank as they got sweaty with the swiftly expanding dance floor of punk rock fans. Once again, these guys are regulars at Stay Gold having played their first gig there just a few years ago. With many fans in their own right, they had the room jumping as they ploughed through their set. Scapegoat was one I really enjoyed, PAPERWEIGHT’s refreshing take on pop punk created a terrific vibe in Stay Gold and set the scene for the headliners. Another appealing local band that I would recommend you check out. We are so flush with amazing music here in Melbourne please go out and find some new bands to support.

It has been a long wait to get Punk Rock Factory here to Australia, but we have been patient, knowing the day would finally come. So on this mild September evening with footy finals in the air the hoards still swarmed to get a piece of punk rock action. With almost 10 years under their belts pumping out punk rock covers of our childhood memories along with other favourites PRF have built a huge following. While I am not so ofay with Tik Tok I’m told that’s the place to be for PRF fans. So it was time to see what all they hype was about, hold on to your hats as I take you through a night with UK’s finest, Punk Rock Factory.

Stay Gold was fit to bulging with punk rock lovers, there was multi-coloured mohawks, there was plenty of tartan and leather but there was also a feeling of unity. People finding their tribe for a night, feeling comfortable in their own skin and dropping their inhibitions and losing themselves to the music. Opening with Pokémon to cheers and screams PRF were off and running, Under The Sea and Power Rangers was a ripping trifecta too get the fans warmed up, keen to see what other delights would make an appearance.  Vocalist Peej kept up cheeky banter across the night, the friendship between these guys is apparent from the minute they set foot on stage. Offering up a $200 merch voucher to one lucky fan which quickly had people jumping on their phones to be in with a chance. Mamma Mia had everyone singing in their finest musical voices and You’re Welcome saw guitarist Ryan take to the crowd armed with two mobile phones filming the shenanigans. Of course the sing offs were many and the collective voices were loud and proud trying to claim their side of the room being the loudest.

With so many hits to choose from in their repertoire it was exciting to see what would come next, Thundercat filled that slot followed closely by Can You Feel The Love Tonight. The Farnsy classic You’re The Voice was up next and had everyone in the room raising their vocal range a cog or two, Kob smashing the drumkit to within an inch of its life. SpongeBob Square Pants, Defying Gravity and the Hamilton banger You’ll Be Back had hands waving in their air as they jumped into Running Up That Hill. Benj had the bass covered as We Don’t Talk About Bruno took it up a level, punters singing every word. Let It Go the Frozen classic that took the world by storm was up next, this punked up version was a standout of the night, even the punkest of punks singing with gusto. While the crowd was jammed packed they remained respectful all night, just there to enjoy the music and have a lot of fun. It was really encouraging to see such an eclectic group come together as one after years of missing out on the live music scene.  Many would have been happy to end the night there, but I had a feeling they could pull a few more from their punk covers pot. After a brief exit they retuned with a fitting finisher in Down Under. This certainly got the blood pumping and our patriotic chests puffed out. Add to this the Moana ripper How far I’ll Go and it was a setlist of dreams.  

Their set flew by in what seemed like minutes but after the warm welcome we afforded them we can only hope that Punk Rock Factory will be back Down Under again very soon. Bringing joy to our ears with the songs of our youth, slung with a modern twist made for an exceptional night of fun. I for one will welcome them back with my punk rock arms wide open.

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Gig ReviewsReviews
September 19, 2023
Midnite Mitch

[Review] Cattle Decapitation @ Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne 16/09/2023

Review By Mitch Charlton

Cattle Decapitation were the last international band I saw play live back in Feb 2020 before the world was struck with the plague and everything went haywire! It was an incredible show, it made a lasting impression and made me a fan of their music. Hearing that they were coming back I was so keen to hear and see this incredible band live once again and my god! They did not disappoint but, on to that later.

3 years later, Cattle Decapitation are back in Australia with their latest destroyer of an album Terrasite and Melbourne is sold out! This is my second sold out show at The Croxton Bandroom and the one thing I notice about this place is, it fills really quick. For anyone that hasn’t been there yet, just make sure you move to where you want to be for the night, otherwise you might struggle to get to the bar and back later.

Melbourne Deathcore quartet, Body Prison come on promptly at 8pm and kick things off with some solid chunk style bass riffage or at least that’s all I’m able to really make out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear much of the guitars for most of their set, even standing in front of the mix desk, as is tradition, wasn’t helping me tonight, from the looks it had a fair bit of tremolo strumming but I’m not gonna hold that against them because their frontman had some incredibly fast paced phrasing skills and definitely got that crowd warmed up for the rest of the night, throwing some merch in to the crowd to fight for it, getting more movement than I’ve seen for an opener for a while. I want to go check them out again to hopefully hear them properly.

Fallujah, another band I hadn’t heard before tonight and I was interested to see how it all came across especially after Body Prisons mix and somehow things sounded incredibly different, I could hear everything but bass this time. These guys have come across with Cattle Decap from the States and brought their version of Tech Death to show off. These guys had more backing synth and clean style vocals, incredibly melodic and some incredible musicianship, it was such a shame I couldn’t hear the bass player, some of the tapping and riffs looked unreal. These guys had the room nodding along and from what I could see a bit of a mosh pit, the room was pretty much sardine packed by this stage. It’s awesome to think that you’re coming to a Death metal show and that all bands have an incredibly different style of play and how they go about their stage, Fallujah stood out from being the most melodic sound tonight, definitely a band to check out.

Just when I thought the room was packed by the end of Fallujahs set, apparently you can fit more people in, as the crowd got nice and cosy, the anticipation grew whilst waiting for Cattle Decapitation to come out and blast us all away. Coming out to album opener, Terrasitic Adaptation, its instantaneous to everyone tonight as to why these guys are one of the best in the business and this show is sold out. First time seeing CD I couldn’t look away from either the frontman or the drummer, don’t get me wrong, the entire band is incredible but how Travis can get his voice in both of those styles live is seriously mind blowing. It must be fun for bands to come to Australia where swearing is just part of our language and culture “MELBOURNE!! How the F$#k are you C&%nts!?” Travis yells and grins, he just looked and sounded like he is having fun saying that, he does drop the C word a few more times throughout the set with a massive grin, pretty funny to watch.

The mix became crystal clear, I could hear and feel the bass and kicks running through the floor, the pit explodes as they run through the first tracks off Terrasite as well as a killer set with the likes of Bring Back the Plague, Finish Them, Forced Gender Reassignment and coming out to an encore of Kingdom of Tyrants. They know how to work their crowd and you can see that all members are incredibly grateful to be back here once again.

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Gig ReviewsReviews
September 4, 2023
Raelee Atkinson

[Review] We Came As Romans @ Liberty Hall, Sydney 31/08/2023

Review By Nikki Eenink

It was Thursday night but there was still a close to a capacity crowd at Liberty Hall in Moore Park, Sydney. Not bad for a “school night”. 

Liberty Hall has gone through several name changes and incarnations over the past decade, it's been quite some time since I ventured to this part of Sydney, so I am pleasantly surprised to find that there’s now a cool adjoining pub that has a nice selection of burgers and fries and has Newtowner on tap, so bro and I are set for a quick feed and a beer or two before the show  and after our long drive down to the “big smoke”. We enter the venue and everything has big, easy to see signage. Toilets, Bar and Merch. Bro and I head straight to the merch line and then find a good spot on the floor near the stage to watch the bands. It’s an all ages show tonight so the punters include mum, dad, the kids and everything in-between.

At 7.30pm there was a sense of excitement in the air as the first cab off the rank was local support band, Harroway, a metalcore quintet of Sydneysiders, who took the stage. 

Harroway warmed the crowd up with a handful of solid ‘core tracks, including current single, Parasite. Lead vocalist, Matt Banks did a great job of getting the audience involved and gee’d up for the next band on the evenings trio of metal. 

Next up were Texan metalcore heavyweights, Invent Animate. 

Invent Animate released a killer new album, Heavener, in March 2023 and finally made their first trip to Australia.

Everyone is finally inside the venue and energised for the show. You could feel that this audience came to participate, so after a quick stage change over, Invent Animate made their Sydney debut, opening with the in your face, Shade Astray then a blistering set of Heavener bangers followed with False Meridian, Labyrinthine, Absence Persistence, Elysium, then finally my favourite, Without A Whisper and rounded the set out with Immolation of Night. Every member of the band was wearing all-white outfits, even the lighting effects were lighter and brighter – it was refreshing visually. 

Lead vocalist, Marcus Vik interacted with the crowd between songs, and  encouraged, in fact, practically demanded jumping, moshing and crowd surfing. He asked if the audience had heard of Invent Animate, to which the audience responded with a resounding “yes” and enthusiastic applause. The crowd sang along loudly and circle-moshed. A handful of people crowd surfed, no need to ask this crowd twice, this is what they came for. The set ended sooner than we all wanted but the crowd remained excited as we awaited the main act, We Came As Romans. 

It’s been almost 8 years since we've seen Michigan-based metalcore/hardcore outfit, We Came As Romans. A lot has happened during that absence. Aside from the pandemic that shut down touring for 2 years, We Came As Romans suffered a great personal loss with the sudden death of much loved keyboardist, Kyle Pavone in 2018. Even after this great sadness, WCAR chose to push forward and in 2022 they released a total banger of an album with Darkbloom. 

At 9.15pm, the stage lights dimmed, Mr Brightside by The Killers played through the speakers while everyone sang along, then the lights came up as the band entered the stage to thunderous cheers and applause. We hadn't seen WCAR since 2015 so the audience was beyond thrilled to finally see them return to a Sydney stage. The set opened with the title track and single, Darkbloom and from the opening notes, the room was electric with anticipation. Vocalist David Stephens sang, “ I won’t pretend that I can see the end, the light may fade, but I won’t wither away, ohhhhh, I won’t wither away, ohhhhh, I won’t wither away…..” then the AI voice announces, “I am Darkbloom” … and with that the band and audience exploded into movement, jumping and dancing.  The crowd was headbanging and moshing, singing loudly, I looked to the left of me and there was a young boy with his mother. He was maybe 10 years old and he knew every word and sang loudly with such enthusiasm. It warmed my cold dead heart to see the younger generations loving metal music with such passion. At the end of the song, Stephens stopped to greet the audience and said, “it's so great to be in a country when I can say the word c*nt. If I did that in the States I’d be cancelled” the audience responded with cheers and the band started playing Doublespeak. 

Next they played Wasted Age. Several members of the band assisted Stephens as he divided the audience on the floor area in half before unleashing the “wall of death” as they play Cold Like War from the 2017 album of the same name. Then it was back to the Darkbloom album’s second track, Plagued. Stephens stoped to converse with the audience again, saying that the next song was Kyle's favourite and dedicated the song to him, the band played Tracing Back Roots, followed up with The Anchor, when David stopped to talk with the audience this time, the mosh pit gets down on the floor and rows together and as the band played Lost In The Moment, from Cold Like War, the moshpit became a juggernaut of circular, swirling movement. During Cold Like War’s Learning To Survive, Stephens jumped down from the stage into the crowd, who held him up as he sang, then surfed back up onto the stage.  At the end of the song, Stephens talked about how he wanted to do a “shoe-y”. The audience cheered him on and chanted “shoey shoey shoey”, Bassist, Andy Glass agreed to do it as well, and both band members proceeded to drink beer from Stephens’ sneaker. It’s gross, its an Aussie tradition and the audience loved it. Then it was time to play the Darkbloom song, Golden, at the end of the song, Stephens calls an audience member to join him up on the stage. He informed the room that this lady had supported the band from the start, had travelled all around Australia and even the world to attend their concerts, then a crew member brought out a broken guitar that the band had signed and Stephens presented it to her as a thank you gift. Everyone cheered and they played Hope from the 2013 album, Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be and finished the set off with another Darkbloom track, Daggers. The band thanked everyone and left the stage for a couple of minutes while the audience cheered loudly and yelled out for “one more song”. The chanting brought the band back and they returned to the stage and performed one final song from Darkbloom, Black Hole, then as they left the stage once again with thanks and waves, tossing out some guitar picks and handing out setlists to the hungry hands of fans up near the front of the stage. The lights came up as the house PA played the Thirty Seconds To Mars hit, The Kill. Phew! What a night!

Each band brought so much positive energy to the evening. The setlists were filled with bangers. They each entertained the crowd who were hyped for a great evening of moshing, headbanging, crowd surfing, and singing along loudly, all of which were done with respectful, animated enthusiasm. The atmosphere was electric for a much-loved band's long awaited return. The venue was clean and the staff were friendly and accommodating. I honestly can't find a negative thing to say about the concert. From go to whoa, my expectations were exceeded. If you haven’t checked out Invent Animate yet, then put that on your To-Do List. We Came As Romans were incredible, putting on a highly entertaining, energetic performance with a set list that included new and past faves. I couldn’t recommend this tour more highly.  For remaining dates and further details, check the Destroy All Lines webpage. 

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Gig ReviewsReviews
August 30, 2023
Nikki Eenink

[Review] La Dispute @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 27/08/2023

Review By Nikki Eenink

Towards the end of their show at The Forum, La Dispute vocalist Jordan Dreyer gives us a speech that sums up why I love emo music, emo shows and the Emo Community at large. “There isn’t a hand coming from the sky to fix the issues that befall all of us, especially the marginalised who have no safety net protecting them from a fall. What we do have, is each other. We have the ability to build a better world, Neighbourhood to neighbourhood, street to street, community to community. Looking out for our friends, looking out for each other, looking out for our Trans, LGBTQ, Indigenous friends. Genuinely fighting for each other. Whatever this subculture is; punk, emo, hardcore, whatever – we all found it looking for somewhere to belong. Life is really fucking hard, and the world is shitty. But it doesn’t have to be. When we come to these shows it reminds us that we can make it better, together. That we are in this together. You can save somebody’s life, man. Do that, save each other, because we need you here right now. We will never let each other lose hope for the better things.” No crowd, no show, no band has ever made that statement feel more real than La Dispute did on Sunday night. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime shows.

La Dispute’s 2011 album, Wildlife, has to be one of the most highly acclaimed and widely loved emo albums of the century. And tonight, 12 years after its release, the Michigan 5-piece are performing it in its entirety for a sold-out show. The house is packed. Goths, tattooed 30-something’s and Prozac teens in baggy pants move between each other, all jostling for a place in the middle of the ever-growing sea of people packed onto The Forum’s main floor.

Punching out the first 4 tracks of their knockout album without breaking a sweat, the energy from this band is just incredible. “We’re La Dispute, from Michigan.” Hell fucking yeah they are. The crowd is going fucking nuts. By the second song I think I’ve seen 2 people crowd surf. Hoots and hollers and a seat of heads and hands and cups are amped up and ready to go. Often, Dreyer will point his microphone at the crowd for a while, and just smile as 2,000 people scream until their vocal cords hurt back at him. As Edit Your Hometown draws to a close, he takes a moment to address us all.

“We’ve been making the long trek to Australia for 14 years. The last time we were here it was… 2009? We got hit up on MySpace. MySpace! It was a powerful tool, which sounds crazy to say. We got asked by a guy from Brisbane whether we wanted to make the trek down here. I want to say it was dumb and irresponsible, but at the time we didn’t care if we lost money or it took months, we just wanted to get to as many places as we could and perform for different people. We toured and we played practice spaces and an abandoned house, community halls… I’ll never forget those shows. And to come back and still be greeted that way… Thank you. It’s insane. This is the biggest venue we’ve ever headlined in our history as a band so… Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. This is fun. This is so much fucking fun. We wouldn’t be here without those guys who brought us over in 2009, so all of these songs tonight are dedicated to them. To Simon, Josh and for Errol. For all the friends that we’ve made. For all of you. Thank you. This song is called A Letter.” And we are sucked back into the Wildlife tour.

Every song is just incredible. Guitarists Chad Morgan-Sterenberg and Corey Stroffolino get this unbelievable tone with their guitars. Their playing mirrors each other, notes and strums melting together like butter. It’s luscious, rich and lingers in the room, it’s completely captivating. The bass work from Adam Vass is subtle, but adds a thickness to the sounds, bolstering those guitars so their instrumentals sit thick in the air like treacle. I can feel those bass runs in my legs, and Brad Vander Lugt’s drumming in my feet. The foursome are some of the best in the game, I’m certain. They’re never ego-driven, never wanting to detract from the others, but they all shine under the heavy red and purple spotlights which wash over the band. Dreyer’s distinctive scream pierces over the top of these intricate instrumentals, his brutalist poetry awakening something powerful within me. Dreyer is a master of combining a hardcore “scream” with wonderful singing voice, soft but sure of itself. He has an incredible range. He really feels his songs. He screams like someone is reaching down his throat and pulling out those ugly feelings, and he sings with the gentle assuredness of a lullaby. La Dispute, in every way, captures the duality of the world through their musicianship.

Eminem’s “Stan” has to be one of the most talked-about, highly regarded, incredibly intricate narrative rap songs of all time. In the same way that Stan is seminal to rap, and a light in Eminem’s career, King Park is one of emo’s golden children. From the weeks before the concert, to the train ride there, I was listening to it. I have blasted King Park since I was like, 14, and riding the school bus home, brooding. It’s been insanely influential. As soon as a Poem finishes, and the irratic, jumpings drums of King Park is upon us. If the crowd was jostling before, now they are rioting. Three people get lifted up to crowd surf and reach fpr Dreyer’s hand. He is more than happy to grab them at the wrist and share a moment of understanding with them. Fuck me these guys are slick. It sounds just as good as the recording, if not better. And this baby is intricate. Constantly changing time signatures, amazingly interwoven guitars, vocal control – it has it all, and they can do it all. The bridge in King Park has been memed to death, but is a genuine hallmark of Emo-tude. I see hands and phones go up. I take a big breath in, and scream with the army of people around me. Dreyer helps us out the first time.

CAN I STILL GET INTO HEAVEN IF I KILL MYSELF?

BEAT. He just holds the mic to us. My voice gives out.

CAN I STILL GET INTO HEAVEN IF I KILL MYSELF?

He waves his arm for us to get even louder. The walls shake.

CAN I EVER BE FORGIVEN?

This is catharsis.

A room full of people who would’ve been lobotomised 70 years ago hug each other and scream until they cry and cry until they scream. The greatest cure to our ills, is each other. The band head towards each other and wrap their arms around each other, like a knitted jumper. The two guys in front of me move their hips off their respective girlfriends and squeeze each other. One guy gives another his hat. The girl next to me wipes tears from her eyes, her friend yells “Thank you!” with a raspy voice. It doesn’t matter if we’ll go to heaven. We aren’t going to kill ourselves. Not now. Not with each other. There is so much love in this room. Strangers pass water around, lift shorter members of the mosh to the front. Solidarity. Community. It’s emotional and wonderous.

The main set draws to a close. I screamed, I cried, I laughed. As Dreyer gave the speech I quoted at the start of this review, some bloke behind me heckles; “Just play the songs fuckwit!” and he is booed. We are a politically aware bunch. It is the hardcore way to be against injustice, to be about self-betterment and community activism. I always say it’s funny that many emo followers are straight edge. A crowd of little stinkers losing their minds and never easing up for over an hour are powered by nothing but Coke Zero and a black nose ring.

The guitar work on I See Everything is gorgeous. It soars around the room, settling in our ears and making me out-loud groan when the song ends because of how spectacular those notes are. Dreyer never runs out of steam. His Ian Curtis-esque dancing becomes only more erratic and fuels the energy in that room. He kneels above the crowd, and they reach for him. The red lights make him look like Christ, saving the damned. Every time a song ends he pulls the microphone up, and in a whisper just says “Thanks”.

I proudly and openly hate encores. But this encore is a separate show. It’s 5 songs long, and next level. Andria is insane. The guitars are so beautiful, yet again. “Fuck transphobes!” Dreyer screams before leading the band into Said the King to the River, a masterpiece of a song. I am a ball of fury, all limbs. The drumwork is perfectly controlled chaos. It mirrors our body movements. It’s impossible to tell where the music ends, and the sound of our feet hitting concrete begins.

And finally, we finish with Such Small Hands. I had given up hope that they’d play this absolutely miserable, undeniable banger. It’s spiritual. I am herded to the back, desperate to de-sweat, when I hear those twinkling guitar notes. An animalistic noise comes from the crowd. Dreyer isn’t going to let us go without a bang. Immediately, we all push forward again. The people in the seats are screaming, too. The song is barely 90 seconds long, but I wish I could bottle them and live there forever.

I THINK I SAW YOU IN MY SLEEP

Dreyer points the mic at us;

L O V E R

We yell and scramble over each other. Washing ourselves clean of all our heartbreak.

And then it’s done.

A girl on my train cries with her headphones on, donned head-to-toe in La Dispute merch. We smile at each other.

I love emo music. I love this community. I. Love. La. Dispute.

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