Gig

Reliqa – Gig Review 15th June @ The Bergy Bandroom, Melb (Naarm) VIC

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Jun 17, 2024

7 min read

ReliqaThe Bergy Bandroom, Melbourne (Naarm), VicJune 15, 2024Supports: RinRin, Silver FangWinter has hit Melbourne hard over the last week or so, after a prolonged summer and warm autumn. Temperatures have plummeted, but there is much warmth in this small, intimate venue tonight, physically and emotionally.The undercard tonight is decidedly un-prog, but that’s cool, as long as it rocks and rocks hard, that’s what we’re all here for.And rock hard it does. The room is already packed to the rafters as Melbourne’s Silver Fang take the stage, bringing the female-fronted heaviness. Their sound juxtaposes djenty guitars with gothic ambience and subtle but effective electronica, and the band absolutely bring it with their live performance, all four members giving all of themselves, leaving nothing on the stage. Especially frontwoman Stephanie Jessica Rose, who prowls the stage like a platinum-blonde cat and sings like her life depends on it. She doesn’t possess the finest voice in heavy music, but what she lacks in vocal range, she more than makes up for in infectious enthusiasm and frontperson craft, all eyes relentlessly drawn to her magnetic presence.Silver Fang’s sound gets kinda stompy at times, even a little dancey and industrial here and there, but the guitars remain searingly abrasive and the energy levels are always sky-high. Their thirty-minute set seems to whiz by in the blink of an eye, and the rowdy crowd gives them an uproarious reception.A shift in gears and sound and a big surprise is provided by Perth’s RinRin. Diminutive in size but huge in voice and presence, she and her band explode onto the stage, her melodic, hard-driving pop-punk sound highly unexpected but very welcome nonetheless. Her band consists of three guitars (including the one played by herself, which she ditches mid-set), a drummer and canned bass. Which of course, begs the question, why not have two guitars and a bass player?Pop-punk may not be this scribe’s all-time favourite sub-genre of rock, but it’s always fun, it always gets a crowd pumping and buzzing. And tonight is no exception. Her songs are short and sharp and there may be little in the way of intricacy and technique on display here, but it hardly matters when the energy and enthusiasm levels are so damn high. RinRin’s thirty-minute set puts a big, cheesy smile on the face of every man and woman in the place, and we are now more than ready for the main event.There is a buzz around Reliqa, in the prog and independent rock scenes, and with good reason. Sometimes hype is deserved, sometimes it is not. This band belongs fairly and squarely in the former category - their debut album Secrets of the Future, unleashed a couple of weeks ago, is quite superb, and they are now backing that up with scintillating live shows across the length and breadth of the nation (with the possible exception of Perth.) And hopefully soon, the world.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L422vEprCpcTonight, the Sydneysiders deliver a set that is understandably heavily slanted towards the hot-off-the-presses album. The band members are consummate pros, world-level on their individual instruments while locking in tightly and beautifully with each other. Out front, vocalist MonPym sings and performs her heart out, smiling joyously and connecting with the crowd in the most crowd-pleasing manner imaginable.This band may present the ‘friendlier’ end of the progressive heavy music spectrum – the songs are short and melodic, Mon’s vocals are 99% clean and sweet (although incredibly powerful), featuring very little in the way of screams or gutturals – but damn, do they know how to prog when they need to. There are many moments across the course of the album and the live set where their magnificent musicianship and nuanced songcraft shine through like a beacon. They also know how and when to hit, and hit hard, when the song requires it.At the same time, they manage to do so whilst keeping things accessible and easy on the ear.Marring things briefly mid-set is the behaviour of some idiot in the middle of the floor, apparently making some of the female patrons in his vicinity uncomfortable. Much kudos to Mon for calling this out and having said individual ejected. There is no room for this kind of nonsense at original rock shows.Band and crowd quickly move on.Best tune of the night award goes to the raucous, rampant 'Keep Yourself Awake' (arguably the best track on the album), while the twisty, turny, headspinning older track 'Mr Magic' closes proceedings with satisfying aplomb. However, there are no weak moments whatsoever during their powerhouse one-hour set.Aside from the one unsavoury punter incident, tonight is a joy, a fun-packed celebration of female-fronted rock 'n roll goodness, and we all venture back out into the cold Melbourne air with nothing but warmth in our hearts and smiles on our faces.Review by: Rod WhitfieldSetlistCaveKillstar (The Cold World)Dying LightThe Bearer of Bad NewsKeep Yourself AwakeSariahPhysicalTwo Steps Apart.blipThe FlowerTerminalUpside DownMr. Magic