Words – Clare
Photos – @photo.amai
Photos – @iceninekills
After all the hypa hypa built up around Electric Callboy, I finally had the chance to experience it myself, and the lucky duck that I am, it was by far the biggest Australian headline show for them yet. The venue was filled to the brim with fun loving party going fans which included a surprisingly large number of small children!? But hey, who am I to judge? My dad took me to Salt n Pepper when I was just a teeny human. So, on with the show, and what a show it was!
The 6 members of Coldrain came out onto the stage dressed in all-black outfits with the clean lines that only Japanese street style can offer. These boys hail from Japan and are gorgeous but don’t let their elfin appearance and clean vocals fool you, because they will switch it up on you and blast some epic growls and heavy beats in your face. Both surprising and delightful. They opened with EX-HUMANITY and FREE FALL from their newly released album OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE but the crowd really fired up for the 2022 single Rabbit Hole, with a mosh pit forming in the centre of the arena’s floor, which built up to a wall of death for Cut Me.
I had heard that Ice Nine Kills brings the theatrics to full volume and they did not disappoint. The American Nightmare kicked off the set where frontman Spencer Charnas sported a fierce Freddy Krueger claw glove. For Meat & Greet we watched Hannibal Lecter being wheeled onto the stage and subsequently breaking free of his restraints and eating a cop’s face off. Spencer then dedicated the next song Funeral Derangements to Andy Williams, the guitarist from Every Time I Die who had passed days prior which spurred the crowd to start a circle pit and crowd surf. A horror themed carnival spilled out onto the stage for The Laugh Track which included a circus stilt walker and a matrix style fight broke out during The Great Unknown. Welcome to Horrorwood and Hip to Be Scared both featured bloody antics including a decapitation but it was Twisting the Knife featuring a guest appearance from the Make Them Suffer lead vocalist Alex Reade that really stood out. Although the track ended with Ghostface slaying Alex, don’t fret, she returns for the final track A Work of Art which also featured a drum solo from Art the Clown…. Terrifyingly good.
Photos provided by @iceninekills
The next couple of hours with Electric Callboy was a wild journey of nonsensical German electronicore mayhem UND I LOVED IT! The well-crafted set contained some of the most awe-inspiring stage effects to date, including sparkler cannons, confetti cannons, fire, fireball and multi-coloured flame cannons AND from my count, around NINE costume changes! TANZNEID opened the performance with a smoke-filled stage and the band members wearing black overalls, white tees and black puffy sleeveless hoodies, but it was Nico Sallach’s infectious smile that stole my focus.
The crowd happily sang along to the Sum 41 cover Still Waiting and choo-chooed to bring in Tekkno Train and then got super hyped and jump-jumped for Hypa Hypa while the band donned very sexy high-vis jumpsuits and 80’s rock n roll hairstyles. We were then invited to sing as loud as we could to MC Thunder, which Nico and Kevin said was ‘Hot’. ‘You guys are hot; you look like you need a workout’ and the jumpsuits were torn off for Pump It.
The boys conducted a tight musical medley beginning with their short German-language track Hurrikan from their 2022 album release, followed closely by Overkill, All the Small Things and Bodies which we couldn’t help but join in as streamer guns blasted over the crowd in a crêpe paper crescendo.
The crowd interactions continued as Nico and Kevin expressed their gratitude for being able to tour their new album: ‘We are so far from home. This makes it so special’ as they started a call and response with the fans as they said ‘MEL’ we said ‘BOURNE’. From the new album, they continued with Revery, Hypercharged and The Saviour before breaking with a sick-ass drum solo from their new drummer, Frank Zummo from Sum 41.
The next segment slowed things down a bit with a throwback to a time when boy bands roamed the earth, but boring was it not. Electric Callboy performed I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys while wearing white puffer jackets and bucket caps and they nailed it! The mosh pit was in a mass circle hug, and the stands were lit up with the twinkling lights of phone torches. A truly magical moment was had by all, but not too seriously as the band broke into giggles throughout. This slid into the newly released parody track The Way You Are, which featured some boy band antics juxtaposed with deathcore breakdowns and screams. Enjoyable.
Before the night was over, we were given performances of Heartclub, Everytime We Touch, Let the Good Times Roll and a crowd favourite, Elevator Operator. For the encore, Electric Callboy returned to the stage with disco ball helmets for RATATATA, NASA jumpsuits for Spaceman and lime green pants with bowl haircuts for We Got the Moves. If you can’t enjoy yourself at an Electric Callboy show, then you are a miserable, dried-up husk of a human being that will never be happy in your lifetime, just sayin’.
Massive thanks to the Rod Laver Arena crew, Coldrain, Ice Nine Kills, Electric Callboy and Dallas Does PR for having us!
