Review and photos by Peter Coates – Inside Edge Photography – for LifeMusicMedia.com
ISSUES kicked off the night with an enthusiastic performance for the growing crowd. Excellent tight drumming from Josh Manuel and a mammoth performance on bass from Skyler Acord built the platform for the twin vocals of Tyler Carter and Michael Bohn, who often displayed some high-quality R & B singing, with really clean, strong harmonies. There is a variety in the set list that covers extreme metalcore through to some progressive melodic metal, and the pop angle the band coined as ‘New Nu Metal’, which probably stems from the fact these guys have been doing their stuff for over 5 years, and we got a selection of material displaying their development, as well as from the new record, Headspace.
A welcome return to Adelaide for TONIGHT ALIVE who have a strong local following, performing material from the new album, Limitless which certainly shows a progression from their more youthful pop-punk beginnings. Jenna McDougall sported a new crew cut, and a pair of angel wings, and showed how far she has grown into a phenomenal frontwoman with a voice to match her wings.
To Be Free and Lonely Girl opened the set, followed by The Ocean, then we got Listening and The Fire. The Other Side, from the essential 2013 album displays so much light and shade and finally brings the crowd to life, before the off-beat Human Interaction from the new record, which features Whakaio Taahi on keyboards and guitar, and the catchy tribal rhythm of Drive which brought to mind an updated Toto (showing my age!).
We get power, punch and poetry from Jenna, with an impassioned introduction on her belief in the importance of “self” before jumping off with The Edge and closing with the raw energy and emotion of How Does It Feel which all display the many layers now present in the TA material, and the quite spectacular voice that Jenna now uses to such great effect. Tonight Alive are growing up, and we should all embrace it!
I will admit to not being overly familiar with the Central Florida punk/hardcore machine that is A DAY TO REMEMBER, but as around half of the crowd appeared to have bought T-Shirts, it was clear that everyone else was more than ready – and we got a massive full-on stage production for the Bad Vibrations tour, with beach balls, toilet rolls and confetti cannons along with the dramatic barrage of screens onstage.
The set-list was pretty impressive, featuring 21 songs from the catalogue, which spans a broad range from radio-friendly pop-punk anthems like We Got This and Naivety, to intense hardcore numbers such as Paranoia and Exposed and the straight-ahead rock of Justified. Title track Bad Vibrations features a brutal killer riff, and a menacing performance from Jeremy McKinnon who maintains a dominant and occasionally frenetic presence throughout.
Crowd-surfing and stage-diving is a pretty standard response, and the circle pit got working occasionally, with the band keen to see if any of the audience could actually surf on a human surfboard held up by those below. Homesick was Blink 182 with attitude, All I Want was anthemic. Then the band left the stage, and we got a real shift in emotion when they returned with an acoustic duet of If It Means A Lot To You which built into a wonderful climax before All Signs Point to Lauderdale and The Downfall of Us All finish the show with a bang.
The show has a great visual impact, lights and stage production, it has humour (“Please excuse us while we change our guitars over”), and the band appear to have a close stage relationship with their fans which comes across in the performance. While they may appeal to a wide range of musical tastes, they do it all in such a way as they don’t alienate any of them – obviously smart lads as well as being a cracking rock band.
TOUR DETAILS at LIVE NATION – www.livenation.com.au
www.adtr.com
www.tonightaliveofficial.com
Review and photos by Peter Coates – Inside Edge Photography – for LifeMusicMedia.com
