Escape the Fate – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 9th October @ Amplifier Bar, Perth WA
ESCAPE THE FATE
Amplifier Bar, Perth WA
October 9th, 2016
Supports – Dream on, Dreamer, Emberville
Dust off the mascara, power up that hair straightener and grab a razor… to cut your JEANS! Melodic metalcore band Escape the Fate returned to Perth for the final leg of their ‘Hate Me’ tour. The last time the Arizonian band cracked out a headliner down under was all the way back in 2011, so fans were definitely excited to head-bang to some of the rare gems.
Kicking things off were the headliner’s token Perth groupies, Emberville. The band are such big fans of the band that they even recorded a single with vocalist Craig Mabbitt last year, with a music video and all. The post-hardcore outfit have been sharing the love around WA for a good few years now and unleashed some of their finest material, and in tight form as well. Vocalist Daniel Raschilla made sure all of the crowd could seem him as he leapt onto the infamous Amplifier pole (in the centre of the venue) as well as the bar, certainly keeping things interesting. The band even teased some Escape the Fate material but decided to leave those ones to the pros.
Sandwiched in the middle of the opener and closer were one of home-grown favourites, well renowned band Dream on, Dreamer who delivering a crisp set of ambience, riffs and all-round fine tuning for the evening. Playing on a very small stage with Escape the Fate’s drum-set already placed up the back, the band worked with what they had and played a healthy variety of tracks from their back catalogue. The setlist including some crowd favourites from ‘Loveless’ and their most recent record ‘Songs of Soulitude’. Frontman Marcel Gadacz engaged with the crowd and expressed his love and appreciation for fans all the way in the west, telling the crowd how excited he was to back. Punters genuinely capitalised on this opportunity to see one of Australia’s finest bands in the alternative world, particularly at a very fitting show.
With very snappy set changes, the almighty Escape the Fate didn’t mess around and got stuck straight into it. Boasting successes from their latest album ‘Hate Me’, drummer Robert Ortiz appeared behind his drum-kit with his infamous Slash-inspired curls filling the space (read our interview with him here). The fairly young crowd were screaming with excitement to see some of their favourite musicians in such an intimate venue. As it almost always does, Amplifier Bar played favour to the band’s acoustics, boasting a perfectly crisp sound, filled with bass before, during and after the well-loved breakdowns.
As much as fans got down to boogie with some of the newer tunes, it was really the bangers like ‘The Flood’ and ’10 Miles Wide’ that got the momentum going from the crowd. As has already been said throughout this tour, Mabbitt’s vocals were simply on point, and the pinnacle of his live performances. Perhaps it was a surprise after experiencing their last shows at Soundwave to the detriment of the open-air, but this time around the singer managed to hit all the highs, the lows, and boy did he hit the growls – hitting you straight in the 2008 feels.
‘Ashley’ and ‘Something’ were really nice to hear as well, as many of the fans have a special respect ‘This War is Ours’, arguably the band’s breakthrough album. Kevin Gruft aka “Thrasher”, was absolutely tearing up the riffs, playing guitar behind his head with his signature war-paint smudging across his face. As diverse and banger-inclusive as the set was, the intro to ‘This War is Ours (The Guillotine II)’ brought on chills. The epic song was played from start to finish filled with the technical mastery that the original track delivered. Punters were head-banging, circle-pitting, crowd-surfing and everything in between.
Returning on stage from a well-deserved encore, Escape the Fate launched into ‘One for the Money’, with a strongly resonating melody, a perfect sing-along that lead into their sensational track that your mum knows them by. That’s right, the Las Vegas bred musicians went back to the debut album and played Ronnie Radke’s ‘Situations’ which could have been sung in completion by the crowd – but Mabbitt didn’t let them do it alone. With a gigantic applause, the crowd clapped the band off-stage for several minutes; perfect show.
Setlist
Just a Memory
Remember Every Scar
Ungrateful
The Flood
10 Miles Wide
Live for Today
Alive
Issues
Ashley
Something
Breaking Me Down
Fire it Up
Dead! (My Chemical Romance Cover)
Gorgeous Nightmare
This War is Ours (The Guillotine II)
Encore:
Paradise City (Intro; Guns N’ Roses Cover)
One for the Money
Situations
Photo Gallery from the night courtesy Josh Ludlow
Simply click on an image to enlarge.
Bands/Promoters feel free to share
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ESCAPE THE FATE
DREAM ON DREAMER
EMBERVILLE
