"There's nothing better than being the centre of attention in front of 400 people," deadpanned Paul Voge of We Set Sail, clearly uncomfortable at the idea.
Since forming in 2008, the self-described 'sad bastards' of Brisbane's heavy music scene have released three fantastic albums of emo epics.They've supported the likes of Camp Cope, La Dispute, and The Get Up Kids. They also made headlines earlier this year when they managed to blag their way into My Chemical Romance's recent return to Australia thanks to having old live footage of support act Jimmy Eat World.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and We Set Sail have called time after 15 years.
Showing just how beloved the band are, 400 fans crammed into Brisbane's The Zoo (8 July) for one last ride before the band sails away forever.
"Is Luke here?" called Apparitions vocalist/ guitarist Cam Gillard. A figure was already bounding towards the stage before the call-out during the opening set.
Emerging on the stage was Luke Henerey of Total Pace and Violent Soho, lending guest vocals for the second song of their set, 'The Sailor Orates'. Thick bass notes chugged beneath some melodic post-hardcore, as Cam and Luke howled together.
After shredding through a cover of 'Shakeytown' by local greats I Heart Hiroshima, Cam took a moment to eulogise We Set Sail. "I'm brokenhearted, but I'm excited to see them one last time. They're all good dudes. Let's send them off in style."
"Come closer, you cowards!" Melaleuca singer/ guitarist Jane Millroy challenged the crowd during their set. The local quartet differ greatly from the other bands on the bill, playing a set of upbeat and melodic alternative rock.
However, fellow singer/ guitarist Andy Francis assured the audience that they're not so out-of-place. "Our songs sound happy, but the lyrics are all about how we're all sad pieces of sh.t."
The band have been steadily on the rise since forming in 2019, and it's easy to see why when they have songs as catchy as 'Minutes', 'Impossible Girl', and 'Jane's In Town'. While We Set Sail are coming to an end, Melaleuca's supporting set is a reminder of the many great bands still emerging from Brisbane's music scene.
A selection of sampled film dialogue played to cheers and whistles. "Come on, let's go be psychos together," one implored the crowd ("We've gone 15 years without getting sued," Paul joked later about their prolific-yet-shady sampling).
Feedback squealed as Paul's husky voice sang opening song 'The Valium Phase', followed by four heavy notes from the whole band. A wave of distorted guitars crashed over the crowd, and Paul, guitarist Andy Martin, and bassist Remy Boccalatte howled, "Oh yeah! Alright!"
The crowd had little room to move, but Andy made the most of his small plot of stage. He thrashed around, bending over his guitar and collapsing to the ground as he played furiously with his bandmates.
Remy and guitarist James Jackson beamed at each other, clearly enjoying themselves despite the downer lyrics.
After a toast of some strong alcohol, the band announced it was also Paul's birthday, much to his embarrassment, and presenting him with a very nice Fender guitar.
"We often sing about not caring," said Remy in his toast, "but there's a lot of things that we do care about. We care that a lot of people have come out to see us. We care about each other. We care about the music that we made."
As the band closed with 'Animal, Mineral, Vegetable', the crowd head-banged to Ben Breitenstein's massive drum hits and howled the song's chant, "you're like a wave".
The guitarists lent their instruments against their amps before leaving the stage, the last notes feeding back and repeating becoming their swan song.
We Set Sail have a legacy of downers, but their end glowed mightily like a Viking funeral. RIP.
