Brisbane heavy rockers Dead Letter Circus chose a curious selection of music to play during the interval between the main support act and their headlining set.
On a cold night in Adelaide (18 July) they picked tracks ranging from Kevin Bloody Wilson, the Team America soundtrack and cabaret versions of Slipknot and Nine Inch Nails.
This all culminated in the playing of John Farnham’s ‘The Voice’. The well-lubricated crowd responded to this Australian anthem with a raucous and remarkable sing-a-long, prompting a member of the band to take to the stage with camera phone in hand.
Instrumentally speaking, John Farnham and Dead Letter Circus have little in common. At the same time, a fundamental component of tracks in the progressive-rock genre are anthemic choruses; soaring and angst-filled refrains that offer catharsis to their beer-swilling punters. Dead Letter Circus drew from their collection of hits to ensure that the “Radelaide” crowd left the venue hoarse.
The current national tour is in support of DLC’s latest single, ‘While You Wait’, and forthcoming album 'Aesthesis'. Their latest single appears to mark a shift in sound for the band, with the introduction of more dance-based rhythms.
Faithful fans will have to wait for the new album to drop, however, as their setlist only contained one other, new track. The remainder of their set was evenly divided between their debut album, ‘This Is The Warning’, and sophomore release ‘The Catalyst Fire’.
Lead vocalist Kim Benzie had the crowd singing along by the second track of the set, ‘Insider'. By track three, ‘The Mile’, the selfie-sticks were raised to the sky (ok there was only one selfie-stick). After playing ‘Lines' from their debut EP, Benzie praised the Adelaide crowd on their customary rowdiness.
Drummer Luke Williams is obviously a fan of South Australian talent, as he decided to make the most of his limited time in town by getting a tattoo on his left arm immediately prior to the gig. Luckily playing shirtless is standard practice for metal drummers, while bleeding on stage is not necessarily frowned upon.
Crowd interaction reached its pinnacle towards the end of proceedings. A slow handclap broke out during the finale of ‘The Veil’; two surly fans slugged it out during ‘Lodestar’ and then mended their friendship during ‘Here We Divide’. DLC ended the night sans encore with their biggest hit ‘One Step’, despite some furtive cries for more.
The main support act I Am Giant from London via New Zealand failed to support the healthy crowd. The Kiwi rockers have achieved fame, both in their homeland and abroad, but have recently replaced their founding lead singer.
New singer, Ryan Redman, sounded hoarse and gravely, but not in a good way. Backing vocalists were required to step in for the higher notes. Perhaps this was simply a health problem that has arisen on tour? Either way, if Redman keeps squeezing out notes through his constricted and vein-popped throat, he won’t be singing for much longer.
The drummer for the band, Shelton Woolright, is to be a judge on the NZ version of 'X Factor', so perhaps he can search for a new singer.
Local nu metal outfit Baltimore Poet received a warmer reaction from the crowd than their more acclaimed colleagues from across the Tasman. This DLC gig was a more intimate affair, and we can expect a larger tour in coming months when their new album drops.
Click here for photos from Dead Letter Circus's Brisbane show (11 July, 2015).
