Review by Billy Geary
Photo Credit: Annie Wilson – Amped Photography
Bellusira have been in and out of the Melbourne rock scene for the better part of 6 years, with a frequently shuffling line-up tending to hold up their progress quite often. However, it seems as though the quartet are finally hitting their stride in every facet of the band. The launch of their hard hitting single ‘Culprit’ to a sold out Evelyn Hotel on Friday night is testament to this.
Anna Salen have been growing in stature very quickly of late, becoming renowned for their excellent stage presence and energy in the live arena. The most impressive thing about Anna Salen is how ridiculously infectious and danceable they manage to be, all without the aid of vocals. This alone speaks wonders for their song writing ability. All of their usual set highlights reared their heads, with ‘Karate’ and new song ‘Tornado’ in particular coming to mind. However it was the insanely catchy ‘Dinner’s On’ that received the greatest response, with Paul Risso’s slap bass and Sean Scott’s powerful drumming combining perfectly. Their short set only confirmed that they’ll certainly be found much higher on line ups in the near future.
New Skinn are stalwarts of the Melbourne heavy rock scene, with punters knowing they will always get a solid set of hard rock from the four piece. With the majority of their set taken from their recently released album Life and Loss, it was an excellent showcase of some of the band’s best work. Vocalist Phil G has a decent set of pipes and, with the help of a small contingent of fans, gave their sound plenty of energy in the live setting. New Skinn are the type of band that should really be dominating modern rock radio around the world, given their highly accessible and heartfelt songs.
Not ones to fuss about, Bellusira tore straight into one of their more popular songs in ‘Closer To Me,’ with its heartfelt chorus a great way to begin their set. New guitarist Vinny Mancuso looked right at home from the get go, seemingly a perfect fit for the band, providing a great stage presence. Excellent renditions of old staples in ‘Nobody’ and ‘Wide Awake’ early on saw plenty of voice in the crowd, with ‘Wide Awake’ garnering a very loud response. Midway through their set, Bellusira treated punters to a surprise cover of ‘Lakini’s Juice’ by Live, inciting a great sing-a-long from the grunge lovers in the room.
The first thing one notices about Bellusira is that front woman Crystal Ignite has an incredible voice, not to mention a brilliant stage presence. It is her performance throughout the set that gives Bellusira so much energy and the ability to stand out from the slew of other rock bands around Melbourne. This was typified during ‘One Second,’ with the energy in The Evelyn’s band room simply electric. Finally, the heavy riffs of new single ‘Culprit’ sounded through the PA as the gig hit its peak. ‘Culprit’ is easily the best thing Bellusira has done, with the raw and aggressive sound working perfectly for them (not to mention another great vocal performance from Crystal).
Ending on a high note, Bellusira returned to the stage along with Ezekiel Ox (of Over-Reactor and Mammal fame) to bust out a searing version of ‘Change.’ Out of the five or six times I’ve seen Bellusira, this was easily the most impressive. With a cracking new single, a sold out show and a settled line up, they are a band on a mission and it showed on Friday night.
Bellusira
Check here for Bellusira ‘Culprit’ Australian Tour 2012 details and dates!
Review by Billy Geary