Protest the Hero – Gig Review 25th April @ The Brightside, Brisbane QLD

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Paul 'Browny' Brown

Protest The Hero
The Brightside, Brisbane QLD
April 25th, 2017
Supported by: A Breach of Silence and He Made Fire

Gig life gets harder when you get older and you can imagine the excitement when the band set times start earlier than expected… wait, just me? Ok then moving on, last night Protest the Hero made their return to Brisbane one man down (guitarist Tim Millar unfortunately had to fly back home for an emergency) but the rest of the band soldiered on and managed to produce one hell of a show without him and the QLD fans understood the situation and were more than accepting.

Opening the night was He Made Fire, a four piece indie rock band who took about 3 songs for the minimal crowd inside to get into them, but once they started rocking out the hipsters in attendance loved it. With each song played I sat there expecting a little more to get excited however in the first opening bars of song #4 (no setlist unfortunately) the mood changed dramatically and suddenly we were at a rock show. If they had lead with this song, there is no question they’d have grabbed the attention of everyone straight away. They threw a shirt into the crowd and left the stage amidst a cheer from the ever growing group of punters.

Next up we had Brissie locals (and gig whores) A Breach of Silence who in the past have managed to score an opening slot for some of the biggest names in music biz at some of the biggest venues across Brisbane. Unfortunately for them, they were performing at one of the most disappointing venues to see a live act of their caliber. These guys usually work the stage and have everyone in attendance on their feet, but on this night it was hard for them to get punters to move close to the stage without encouragement. But that didn’t stop them from putting on one of the loudest and heaviest performances they’ve ever done. Bassist ~~Thor~~ Blair Layt‘s beautifully harmonious singing pierced the air and sent shivers up my spine every time he sang. The band played though hits like ‘Vultures‘, ‘The Darkest Road‘ and ‘Falling Away‘ before leaving the stage with a standing ovation and roar of applause from those in attendance.

It wasn’t even 9:20pm when Protest the Hero emerged from behind the venue wall and took to the stage for punters who had been waiting almost three years for them to return. There’s no other way to explain lead guitarist Luke Hoskin‘s ability besides a technically furious fingering session on display for our eyes and ears. The man is a fuckin machine and I was blown away by his playing all night. Rody Walker‘s high pitch (almost opera) singing was captivating and definitely cemented the front-man as one to watch in the future, his vocal range has a similar style to Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden which was monstrous and epic in sound.

The band made jokes on stage about Canadians in attendance who had Maple Leaf tattoos but hated their home towns, a guy wearing a computer programming shirt that no one else understood and the fact we have shit internet in comparison to their country. Rody joking about using up his hotel’s 30 minute Wifi allocation by going through Instagram photos and not being able to get to the stories.

The band got back into their set with a perfect performance of ‘Clarity‘ that once again backed up my statement about the Bruce Dickinson comparison, ‘C’est la Vie‘ and ‘Tidal‘ had the crowd smashing their heads into an invisible table top furiously as the band played along with a tacking of Tim Millar‘s guitar, complete with distorted fart sounds, unbeknownst to us listening, until the band filled us in on the joke. At one point a guy let his hair down and was so frantically headbanging it looked like a tumbleweed was floating around the moshpit at 200kms per hour.

Rody points out how thirsty he is and how fans in Newcastle tried to convince him to do a ‘Shoey‘. He was not having a bar of it and in anticipation of this statement, he had already lost his shoes before stepping foot on stage. As the band continued playing a LARGE collection of new and old tracks, they left the stage quite early into the night (bout 10:15 for those playing at home) and for the first time (in my attendance) we saw an Encore at The Brighty. ‘Bloodmeat‘ went fuckin off and formed a circle pit of bodies bashing into each other. The Protest boys did not disappoint proving you don’t need all your members to be able to put on a decent, heavy as fuck speed show of ability. I’d be keen to see these guys again, in a larger room. They are way to talented for small gigs so get behind them Australia, you cooked it if you missed them this time around.

Browny (@brownypaul)

I took some photos on my phone, don’t judge me!

He Made Fire