Sunday, November 14, 2010

In Trenches/Anchors, Fat Louies, November 13 2010

Due to a late dinner and the Rugby game at Suncorp clotting my train ride, I arrived at Fat Louies pretty late to catch this free hardcore and punk gig. As I walked in, I caught the last half of the set from a band I had never heard of before, Friends With the Enemy.

I instantly liked them. Playing a melodic style of hardcore punk, they musically sound a lot like two of my favourite bands: A Wilhelm Scream and Strung Out. But this Gold Coast band does something a lot different, which in my books make them more awesome: they have an amazing female singer (check out their MySpace or get a few free MP3s from their Unearthed).

The temperature was building to a ridiculous level in the little band room at Fat Louies by the time In Trenches took the stage. I saw these guys open for Cancert Bats not too long ago, but due to my increased level of intoxication and a late arrival because of events leading to that increased level, I don't remember seeing much of them. Which is a pity, because they are a very tight and amazing live band.

Despite the oppressive heat and humidity of the room, they put a lot of energy into their set, jumping around the room.

Their metal/hardcore style was luckily fairly free of breakdowns, although a few of the punters thought they'd have a bit of a hardcore dance. At the last song, In Trenches put everything into it, with the guitarist and the singer ending up on the floor in exhaustion, probably from the heat.

The quality of their live show was apparent when Anchors came out to play, as the lead singer mentioned that they shouldn't be the headliner, following the quality of the acts before them. Although the lead singer's voice wasn't keeping up too well, with quite a few adolescent voice cracks. But he still gave it his all, dancing around and jumping off the kick drum. So much so that I struggled to get pictures of him.


The crowd didn't respond well at first, but they found their groove as the set played out. They also lost a lot of clothing with each song due to the crazy heat in the room. Being from Melbourne, I'm sure they had never felt anything like this before. It's unfortunate it took them most of their set to get a sound together, but their last few songs (including a couple of new ones) were great, especially with the punk gang vocals.


Despite me visiting a lot (it was the third time this week alone) it was the first time I had gone to Fat Louies purely for a gig. And despite the heat, it was a great show, highlighting the talent that abounds in the Australian hardcore and punk scenes.

All of these pictures, plus heaps more I took of this and other shows, can be found on my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nunchukakatta/sets/72157625075862092/

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