Gig

Hands Like Houses - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 9th February @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Feb 11, 2019

7 min read

Hands Like Houses
Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW
February 9th, 2019
Supports: Ocean Grove and Endless Heights

Over the weekend we caught the Hands Like Houses tour as it came through Sydney with a bunch of great upcoming Aussie acts including Ocean Grove and Endless Heights who were struck down by an injury not even 15 minutes into their set when frontman Joel Martorana split his head open while performing the second song. But that didn't dampen the band's spirits as they played through a stack of tracks from their latest album Vicious Pleasure. The crowd kept piling in with each song they got through indicating there was a strong enough pull for the band to bring in some new fans. Despite a couple of mic issues, the band soldiered on and proved their worth on the tour

Up next were Ocean Grove showcasing their new four-piece lineup which has ex-bassist Dale Tanner now fronting and newbie, Twiggy, sporting sick mullet and mad bass skills. The band's set also featured an incredible light show which had to be seen to be believed and their entire show felt as if they were in fact the tour's headliners. They gave it their all and even debuted their new single 'Ask For The Anthem' for the first time live in Sydney and goddamn you better believe it went off. If you had doubts about this band moving on after losing two key members, you better snap out of that, they killed it showing no signs of slowing down. The crowd surfers at the end during 'Stratosphere Love' proved the band still have a heavy enough sound for fans to get into and Dale really shows us something he always had, the ability to work a crowd and run about the place without the constrictions of a guitar hanging off him. The future of OG is now and it's incredible to witness.

Last but not least were tour headliners Hands Like Houses who hit the ground running straight into their set complete with streamers and co2 during 'Monster', showcasing just how monstrous their live shows have become. Frontman Trenton Woodley wasted no time jumping into the crowd for a surf, only to be outdone by bassist Joel Tyrrell who pulled out an ACTUAL SURFBOARD later in the night during 'Bad Dream' and proceeded to play and ride that mofo like the true professional he is (let's not mention the fact he fell a couple of times, that doesn't need to be included right? haha). Crowd favourites of the night included 'No Parallels', 'Perspectives', 'New Romantics' and 'Through Glass' off their latest release -Anon. (our review here)

In all the years I've seen these boys (I've seen them over 10 times), this would have to be their best performance to date, which is incredible to witness as a fan. The only downside would be the atrocious "shoey" chant which is still getting pulled out at shows to this day. Its 2019 FFS. End it. The boys came back on stage for an encore consisting of 'Colourblind' and 'Half Hearted' complete with confetti and many screams and cheers if delight. What a show. What a spectacle. What a band. Love you Hands Like Houses.

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

Revisit Ocean Grove frontman Dale Tanner chatting all about their tour with HLH and the new era in last week's Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall podcast right here