Gyroscope – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 19th January @ Rosemount Hotel, Perth WA
Gyroscope
Rosemount Hotel, Perth WA
January 19th, 2018
Supports: Horror My Friend and The Faim
The Rosemount was dark, and the punters lined the bar, forming a perimeter around the area in front of the stage. The backlit bar created a series of shapes that resembled a crowd of twenty-somethings donning flannos and jeans. I did see a few man-buns, something you can’t hide in a silhouette—apparently, they are here to stay. The room filled quickly, and The Faim had commendable numbers at the stage-front by the time they started their set.
To be completely honest—I hated myself for liking it. The Faim’s first song certainly set the tone for the entire set, with a collection of the pop punk tropes made famous by My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the Disco; marching drums straight out of ‘The Black Parade’ and triggers and sounds akin to All Time Low’s 2009 album Nothing Personal (I have to say, this was a regretful album purchase, but the only real reference I have). With all that said, their set was awesome. If pop or pop-punk is your thing, you would have been shaking with excitement in your chequered, low-cut vans. From the relatable ‘Midland Line’ to ‘Summer is a Curse’ to ‘Infamous’, the super-melodic and catchy vocal hooks and retro guitar sound had heads bobbing nice and early. Props to these guys for getting my attention, will keep an eye on them for their next headline gig.
Before the show, I checked out Adelaide’s Horror My Friend, but got more than I expected in their live show. Gyroscope’s main support came out firing on all cylinders with a huge distorted bass sound and spacey lead parts that cut through the mix nicely. The boys were obviously stoked to be on tour with the Perth legends and it showed in their final set, with animated guitar playing and serious energy on stage. The heavy bass sound shook the walls of the Rosemount as a growing crowd grew ever more responsive as the stoke grew and the drinks started to take hold. Josh Battersby and Tom Gordon swapped roles for the remaining three songs of the set and offered up a fresh new dynamic while keeping the foot on the gas—validating their commitment and ability as musicians and songwriters. Horror My Friend serve up heavy, tasteful, spacey rock that is due to materialise in another record this year, so stay posted.
Between sets, Ramones got several plays. ‘Sheena is a Punk-Rocker’ was slowly turned down as Gyroscope ripped into ‘Don’t Look Now but I Think I’m Sweating Blood’ to a roar of the crowd that rivalled the band’s volume—The Rosemount was now wall-to-wall. Because of this, I had now found myself shuffled behind a nice big concrete column, obscuring my view of most of the stage (damn engineers and their pursuit of structural integrity). But I was thankful that Daniel Sanders did most of his work above the mosh-pit.
The intensity of ‘DABS’ was apparent in the way the pit began to move. A track full of simple breakdowns and harsh vocal parts the crowd responded with flailing arms and jumping in time. Certainly, a successful single launch already—after so many releases, it’s inspiring to see a band still delivering authentic, quality music. ‘1981’ had Sanders on the stage’s front railing singing lyrics with the crowd as flailing hands brushed his body. The band’s setlist was truly a ‘best-of’ with songs that spanned most of their discography, every cheer getting louder and louder at the beginning of each song as the crowd got ever more excited upon hearing the recognisable riffs. ‘Beware Wolf’ had the punters shouting “I’d kill for you” in unison and clapping above their heads in the buildups.
Obviously happy with the crowd’s reception, bassist and backing vocalist Brad Campbell stated: “Thanks for still giving a shit, that’s awesome”. Pretty hard to not give a shit about this shit: drummer Rob Nassif belted out an extended drum beat before Zoran Trivic kicked in with the distinctive riff of ‘Doctor Doctor’. I don’t care who you are, that song makes you move your head a little, or a lot. I’ve always given a shit about Gyroscope, but after finally seeing them live and hearing that song, I think I give a shit even more, if there exists a scale on giving a shit. It was this point in the night where I asked myself why the hell I work Saturdays.
‘Fast Girl’ was delivered and received with the same intensity—intimate and rollicking—and with a cover of Midnight Oil’s ‘Beds Are Burning’ thrown in the mix. ‘Safe Forever’ was my pick for the night, with Sanders crowd surfing while the crowd chanted “safe forever” along with him. The band had stopped playing and it was just Sanders and the crowd. It gave me goose-bumps; it was pretty special to see a band connecting with an audience like that. When Sanders had finished monkey-barring his way along the beam on the Rosemount’s low roof he was back on stage to begin closing out the set with ‘Crooked Thought’ (which sat nicely in the set as a new banger), ‘Baby I’m Getting Better’ and ‘Snakeskin’. Feedback shook the building as ‘Snakeskin’ concluded and the lads made the obligatory walk off stage before the encore. They returned with a cover of Nirvana’s ‘Tourettes’ to finish off the set. They seriously could have played anything at that point. The crowd was well and truly sold.
I couldn’t have asked for a better show to start my year and I’m stoked it was these lads from Perth that came through with the goods. It’s gonna’ be a good year!
Review by Rory McDonald
Photo Gallery by Kim Anderson – Please credit Kim Anderson and Wall of Sound if you repost.
Facebook: Shoot The Wicked Witch Instagram: @kimshootswitches
Horror My Friend
Gyroscope
