Touché Amoré – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 6th July @ The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Touché Amoré
The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
July 5th, 2017
Supports: Kings At Heart, Endless Heights, Turnover
Packed to the rafters with patrons begging for their emotional exorcism from whatever sad life they’ve fled as they stepped into The Triffid. Tonight is a representation of the kind of emotionally powerful music still going strong even after the scene was invaded by eyeliner and autotune vocals.
Opening act Kings At Heart might not have a packed room for their set, but tonight they play the kind of emotional post-hardcore that evokes a 15-year-old version of yourself staring in the darkness, leaking tears from your eyes. Packing the punch of an old school band from the early 2000’s, with the songs to match the intensity of their showmanship. They command a small, but captivated audience who hang off every word – given a few more years, you can expect even bigger things from this act.
Subsequently when Endless Heights appear onstage, their arrival is greeted with cheers as frontman Joel Martorana commands the dedicated crowd to “come forward and bang their heads” as they launch into their potent alternative/post-hardcore music. Jumping about the stage as if he’s on the verge of breakdancing at any moment, Martorana’s movements are matched by the band’s mastery of their musical craft with each note sticking in your head with their fans screaming alongside them.
Following band Turnover are the most left-of-field act on the bill tonight – undeterred frontman Austin Getz appears onstage looking like he’s in desperate need of some soap and a shower as the opening notes of ‘Cutting My Fingers Off’ fill the fixated room. Don’t let the frontman’s dishevelled appearance fool you though as he and his cohorts have the room eating out of the palm of their hand, their ethereal music leave the dancing punters awash in a sea of subtle, delicate chords and soothing vocals that will remain with you long after the set is over.
Headliners Touché Amoré need no introduction at this point, carving their own path over their three previous releases to push themselves to the forefront of the modern hardcore scene. They return to Australia with their new opus Stage Four in tow along with them.
Walking on the stage as the sounds of Daniel Johnston’s ‘Funeral Home’ fill the room with tense anticipation, the room becomes a frenzied mess of bodies as the lights reveal the band and frontman Jeremy Bolm begins the fast paced ‘Flowers and You’. Conviction is the main theme of tonight as Bolm exudes a genuine sincerity for his fans and through his intensely captivating performance tonight. Armed to the teeth with fan favourites such as the intense ‘Pathfinder’ and the soul searching ‘Just Exist’ adds to the atmosphere with each song threatening to shred the vocals of the crowd who scream themselves hoarse alongside the frontman.
Newer songs such as ‘New Halloween’ and ‘Rapture’ sound like complete revelations in the hands of the guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt who in company with bassist Tyler Kirby and drummer Elliot Babin are the emotional core in which Bolm weaves his poignant words. Their importance can’t be understated as they craft hardcore songs with influences far reaching out of the spectrum of traditional hardcore – elevating them far beyond any band currently in the scene.
Finishing with the raw ‘Honest Sleep’ sees things pick up another notch as crowd-surfing antics ensue and everyone is pushed to the limit – Bolm further adds to this sense of drama by joining the fans for one last hurrah in the pit – screaming the final lines of the song into his microphone as some enthusiastic punter screams repeatedly “get that man a water” and the night comes to an inevitable end.
Review By Kaydan Howison
Revisit our interview with Touché Amoré frontman Jeremy Bolm here
Photo Gallery by Alison Northway. Please credit Wall of Sound and Alison if you repost photos. Alison Northway Photography
Endless Heights
Turnover
Touché Amoré
Touché Amoré – 2017 Australian Tour Dates
Saturday July 8th – Melbourne – Arrow On Swanston
Sunday July 9th – Melbourne – Corner Hotel
Tuesday July 11th – Adelaide – Fowlers Live
Wednesday July 12th – Perth – Amplifier Bar
