Saviour Gig Review 5th March @ Amplifier Bar, Perth
The ‘Undead’ tour sure came alive at Saviour’s hometown show and final leg at popular hotspot Amplifier Bar. The UNFD band have been celebrating their resurrection with brand new single ‘Lovers’ – a softer and more melodic direction for the band. But tonight was about celebrating their return to the stage, and that’s Saviour did, with a bit of help from some homies who followed them around the nation.
Opening with the local slot were premium Perth outfit Aveira Skies who have been kicking for around half a decade now. With snags sizzling at the bar’s hotdog stand and punters steadily migrating into the band room, Aveira Skies delivered a well-orchestrated sound. With an arguable metalcore instrumentation, the King Parrot-esque vocal effort made for an interestingly unique sound – solid openers for the evening.
Fitting quite well with the Saviour vibe were Adelaide’s Ambleside who were on next. A fairly younger crowd overtook the band room to check out the South Aussies who brought the birth-child of indie/hardcore. The raspy vocals and melodic riffs made for an interesting, yet clearly enjoyable sound for punters who got involved up the front.
It was evident that punters were stoked to get a taste of Melbourne’s Ocean Grove who don’t get to come down to Perth that often, and people were excited as the band have really blown up over east in the past year or so. The band played to a full crowd with a high intensity show, causing a whirlwind of flailing arms in the pit, particularly when each track reached a bellowing crescendo.
Tension was building; what were the headliners going to sound like? Was it going to be a setlist full of new and softer tracks or a bit of a mix? No one really knew; alas this was quickly addressed as vocalist Bryant Best launched on stage preparing the home-crowd with a statement - tonight is about all the old s***” before launching into: ‘Strength’ – yep, Saviour are back!
The crowd went mental to the integration of Shontay Snow’s backing track to Best’s gruff roar reverberating through the venue. The band were on point in all departments and kept pumping out the jams like ‘Vomit’ and ‘Escape’ - total bangers. It was ‘Jaded’ that really moved the crowd and peaked the evening’s proceedings though, and without fail, the entire crowd screamed ‘chick click boom’ before the blistering breakdown shuddered through the room.
Best requested a circle pit which ventured around the infamous pillar in the centre of the venue, and after attending gigs at Amps for many years, for the very first time I witnessed a punter jumping up on the pillar’s table top as the crowd spun around him like the Tasmanian Devil.
Saviour’s outstanding feature and signature point has always been their ability to retain an emotional atmosphere to their heavy delivery, both on record and at shows – tonight was no different. Best’s vocal range, speed and alignment to hooks provided a cathartic recipe of destruction; it certainly builds curiosity as to what the Westralian’s next album might sound like.
Before the end of an impeccable performance, Best thanked all of the support bands, especially those that flew across the country for Perth. The turn-out was so significant and should make Perth proud to be still be featured in national tours, regardless of the home-town element. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Saviour show without melting hearts, and so the opening bars of ‘Unstoppable’ truly set it off.
Ricky Aarons - https://twitter.com/rickysaul90
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