The Empty Threats are shaping up to be South Australia's hottest new music prospect.
Hot on the heels of their debut full-length release 'Monster Truck Mondays', the band took the opportunity to do a brief tour taking in Sydney, Melbourne and home town Adelaide.Given the inescapable radio play the album is receiving in SA alone and the sheer intensity of their live performances, it is clear to see why. Saturday night's sold out concert (26 August) at Jive Bar in Adelaide stood as an indication of something truly spectacular in the making.
The bill brought together some of the city's finest jazz-influenced rock and punk musicians to the stage, with new act Gallery One opening up in fine form.
The band's dreamy soundscapes created a textured atmosphere through the throbbing PA that crescendoed into cacophonic, jazzy, instrumental passages.
Gallery One - image © Mike Lockheart
At once appearing to sit on the verge of complete chaos, during song 'Cat Dog' the band, in the midst of seemingly opposing guitar lines, came together in an instant for some tightly syncopated polyrhythmic riffing.
Reminiscent at times of Adrian Belew-era King Crimson, Gallery One explored discordant chord progressions in an unpredictable but deliberate manner, channelling the angst and fuzzy haze of early Sonic Youth simultaneously, albeit with a firmly jazz-infused grace.
The next act, The War Room, further explored complex if occasionally manic polyrhythmic jazz beats.
A driving bassline and drum beat held the fort for lengthy, but intriguing tenor sax solos as well as more refined guitar duelling.
Despite the focus demanded by their style, hilariously the band were able to discreetly pass around a pair of sunglasses between themselves, taking turns to each wear them for a song, almost without anybody noticing.
The War Room - image © Mike Lockheart
The Empty Threats arrival was preceded by a soundcheck of haunting instrumentation largely by way of vocalist/ saxophonist/ clarinetist Stu Patterson's deranged, effects-laden wind instruments.
Isolated, these sounded stirring, like a terrifying howl on a dark winter night, but when mixed with the thrashing punk of the band served to add an exotic texture of nostalgia, as if channeling British new romantic bands, many of whom were played between during sets.
Opening with 'ATACB', the Empties raucous performance style articulated the passion, frustration and pain expressed in their lyrics.
The Empty Threats - image © Mike Lockheart
With Patterson striking poses at lightning speed, tracks from debut LP 'Monster Truck Mondays', which was performed in its entirety, came across like the total embodiment of the band's current discourse and evidently struck an emotional chord with their listeners.
The album's more contemplative moments like 'New Jet Ski', 'Dear Sunshine' and 'Sunday Night' rang with a chambered melancholy, the latter seeing one of Patterson's more sorrowful calls.
All the while, visual artist Ryan Sahb's mind-bending analogue visuals were generated and projected in realtime on top and behind the band (including the night's openers), creating striking shadows of the frenetic movement on stage.
The Empty Threats - image © Mike Lockheart
Though peppered with moments of gigantic rock & roll, the band's seemingly unplanned encore saw the Empties revert to the primal noise juggernaut many have come to expect, closing the performance by playing tracks from their self-titled EP, including 'K', featuring an exciting but deliberately understated verse sung by guitarist Venus.
Meanwhile, Stu utilised the intimate, staggered room as his climbing frame, grappling the upper balcony rail to leer over an adoring crowd before falling into their arms. Do not miss out on this riveting, relevant and life-affirming band.
More photos from the show.
