Stepson celebrate a decade, as She Cries Wolf say farewell.
As this reviewer's first venture to the somewhat-newly reopened Crowbar Brisbane – now calling home on Ann Street, Fortitude Valley's old The Zoo location – mixed emotions weighed heavy in the air.Nostalgia flooded to front of mind at the return to an institution held close to my, and heavy music lovers' hearts; appreciation, adoration, and respect for Stepson for maintaining an ever-strong presence in the local and national music scene alike after a decade, witnessing many others come and go, alike; and a melancholy at another Brisbane staple, an iconic outfit calling it a day.
Regardless, overarching the night was excitement and anticipation to what would undoubtedly be a chaotic, emotional, and energetic evening (17 January) of some of the best local acts of recent years.
While warming Crowbar Brisbane is no difficult task (that's a temperature joke for those unfamiliar with the notoriety associated with 711 Ann Street), Total Buzzkill and Zuko stood up and delivered in ensuring that the sold-out room was as prepared as they could possibly be for the sonic and optic onslaught ever-promised and guaranteed by She Cries Wolf (SCW), and crowd-pleasing sing-alongs atop emo-core foundations that have risen Stepson to fame.
Zuko, a relatively young outfit from Brisbane, stormed the stage and demanded the attention of punters, highlighted through a mature and raw energy delivered by frontman Jesse Hudson with rhythmic, choppy and Venom-ous vocals to match.
I foresee some exciting things for these youngbloods in the future, and urge heavy music fans to keep their finger on the pulse of their future endeavours as the only trajectory for this outfit is upwards.
The lights dropped, and the PA system filled with the ominous melody of 'The End', penned and performed by The Doors. SCW slowly and calmly enter to a darkened stage before through the eruption of cheers and shouts of the crowd, vocalist, Luke Harris roared that "this is the f...ing end," signalling the commencement of the band's swansong set as they launched into 'Bedridden'.
In what would become a theme of the evening, fans were graced with the guest vocals of Stepson frontman, Brock Alan Conry assisting Harris in a highly energetic, raw, dual delivery matched and potentially exceeded by the other four-parts of the SCW camp.
To elaborate on the chaotic performance delivered by SCW would be exhaustive and redundant, however in the opinion of this music fan who values energy, chaos, and showmanship nearly as much as – and sometimes even more than – note for note perfection in live environments, SCW are truly a band that without enjoying witnessing live at least once, is a disservice to yourself as a fan. As always, bassist Daniel Belic gave absolute disregard to his body and equipment, throwing both across the stage in time and out of, to the vicious array of SCW's catalogue.
Tracks 'Cultist', 'Lost Souls', and closing song, 'Baal' all featured shared vocal duties between Harris, friends who took to the stage, and friends putting their bodies on the line in the moshpit – to the extent of the lead vocalist's microphone apparently becoming lost in the swarm of stage divers and revellers as they invited all willing and able friends and fans to join them on the stage in an oh-so-fitting farewell to a band that has prided themselves on pushing the buck and exemplifying the unity that can exist within musical sub-genres and cultures.
The highlight of their set for this reviewer was the rendition of 'We're All Arsonists', wherein Dom Harper of The Comfort joined to lend his voice to a fan (and personal) favourite track from the quintet.
SCW – thank you for your service over the last 11 years. The Brisbane heavy music scene wishes you well in your retirement (although we're all certain that for at least some of you, your faces will remain ever-present on the touring circuit).
With curtains pulled and a slight delay to commencement, fans had pushed to the front and packed the room in excitement as Stepson commenced their set – heavy, enthused, and tightly executed.
In a full circle moment, the second song of their performance was the first song the five-piece released; a fitting touch for a band that later explained they started maybe 12 months after the formation of SCW a decade ago and have since shared the stage with them countless times.
With the modest introduction, speaking to the fact that with the reception of this song "maybe people might like us", Stepson powered into 'Echoes In An Empty Room', a staple and universally adored song by fans of the band – spoiler, there are lots of these, and they were almost-all allowed space within their exhaustive set.
During this song I had the pleasure of watching what may have been the calmest crowd surfer I've ever witnessed, followed within seconds by another who must have been inches away from breaking their neck – the duality of life; so fitting for this act and evening.
While Stepson may be most easily recognised for their emo-core tracks ladened with contrasting clean vocals executed exquisitely by both Jayden Ridley (bass) and Nickolas Sean Farr (guitar) in conjunction with Conry's raspy, often low and heavy vocals; their set featured many heavy-highlights showing there is more connection between the two closing bands of the evening than just camaraderie.
Be it via the hands-to-the-sky pre-breakdown of 'The Entire History Of You', the unrelenting and ever-busy drumbeats complementing the heavy chugs of 'Eraser', or the brand new, unreleased track titled 'Venom' that featured all of this and more (I'm incredibly excited for the official release of this track), there was no shortage of heavy open notes, melodic and catchy guitar lines, drums that were played like the rent was due, and vocals ranging from angelic to angry, melancholy to heartbroken, and everything in between.
To truly encapsulate the multi-faceted and dynamism of Stepson, after successfully calling for a wall of death during 'Discover Lonely', two charming punters took to the stage for a proposal of marriage, before the band serenaded the newly engaged off the stage to 'Blue'. It is apparent that Stepson is not only for the broken-hearted, but for new lovers, too.
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, there were mixed emotions walking into this evening's show, and similarly walking out. However, after being sufficiently satiated and once again blown away by the talent, respect, and love – both romantically, and therein of brothers-in-arms who have forged lifetime relationships through the beautiful vessel that is music – these emotions shifted to closure and acceptance, whilst still nostalgic (although I hope this feeling at least, never ceases).
