Trophy Eyes – Gig Review & Photo Gallery October 12th @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW

Posted on October 14, 2018 by renaeegan

Trophy Eyes
Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW
October 12th, 2018
Supports: Dear Seattle and Maddy Jane

By the time Dear Seattle were on stage the venue was close to full and punters were casually wandering over from the bar, assumably keen to hear a band that’s been making quite a bit of noise recently. The classic Triple J rock sound translates surprisingly well in a venue like Enmore. After seeing their incredibly tight set at Yours And Owls, I was in no way shocked by their showmanship. Noteable highlight being fan favorite ‘The Meadows’ which had the entire crowd joining in on the aggressive chant-like chorus of “fuck being sad, I’m so over it!!!”. I’d say they left with an extra three thousand people begging them to release their debut album as soon as possible.

The first time I saw Trophy Eyes was at a free show at Frankies Pizza (A tiny bar venue in Sydney) before Chemical Miracle had even been released. So to see 3,000 people collectively cheer as the opening piano of ‘Cotton Candy Skies’ plays, was an incredible experience and judging by the boys faces they shared the sentiment. Front-man John Floreani flys around the stage in what I can only describe as an energetic circular Naruto run as the boys play through a guaranteed crowd pleaser ‘Lavender Bay’ which had the crowd in an anthemic chant that could be heard from the moon.

Now I’m pretty sure I predicted this in my review of the new album, but the use of gang vocals in literally every song was a tactical guarantee that The American Dream would translate phenomenally live and my god did it worked. The entire crowd sings back every word as the boys rip through ‘More Like You’, ‘Broken’ and ‘Something Bigger Than This’; The choir of punters only elevating the uplifting larger than life feeling that the entire album is just dripping with.

It’s also worth shouting out the light show at this point because it’s somewhat of a spectacle in its own right. The lasers and flashing lights only adding to the dramatic performance. Each member feeding off the palpable energy as they jump around through a slew of newer tracks including ‘Hurt’, ‘Miming In The Choir’ and ‘Autumn’. Which all honestly just go off.

Then it was time…

Chemical Miracle was one of the most iconic albums of it’s time and boy does it show. It hit that point of the show where they pay tribute to this masterpiece of an album. It’s interesting that they lump it together the way they did. The boys clearly wanted to showcase the new album rather than blend the two; weirdly it works through and the portion of the night is treated like a celebration of angst. ‘Heaven Sent’, ‘Breathe You In’, ‘Suicide Pact’ and ‘Daydreamer’ all are received like the welcoming of an old friend.

The short acoustic comedown comprised of the gorgeous ‘Tip Toe’ and a ‘Symphony Of Crickets’ which prepare for the absolute wild performance that is ‘Chlorine’; There’s screaming, crowd surfing, crying… you get the picture. The main portion of the night finishes with the pop anthem ‘Friday Forever’ and everyone takes a moment to prepare for the encore.

The encore comprises of single ‘You Can Count On Me’ and closing track ‘I Can Feel It Calling’; There’s confetti, sparks, aggressive finger pointing, the whole shebang. Everyone releases what’s left of their energy and the room fills with a final litre of sweat.

Watching these guys play will always be an absolute treat and I for sure am not going to get sick of it anytime soon… That’s probably why I traveled all the way to the Hunter Valley the next day to see them again.

Gig Review Bree Vane @Briebrebree

Revisit Trophy Eyes frontman John Floreani co-hosting Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall right here

Photo Gallery by Renae Egan. Follow Renae on Facebook and Instagram.
Please credit Wall of Sound and Renae Egan if you repost.

Dear Seattle