Words & photos – @djsedick
BANKS ARCADE
From the first notes, I’m reminded that good earplugs are a must when shooting at PICA as the stacks here are BALLSY (I remember walking out of an Amyl and the Sniffers set here a few years ago feeling like I might have burst an eardrum – rookie mistake – do not recommend)
Plenty of punters make it in early to catch Banks Arcade – a trio from NZ who have called Melbourne home for the last 8 years and have been gathering momentum on the local scene for that whole time to become the powerhouse they are today.
From the third song, it was all new stuff off their upcoming album, spitting out banger after banger and judging by the crowd reaction, people are gonna love it. Hands in the ai,r clapping to the bea,t and getting into the spirit of the evening ahead of them.
The best way I can describe Banks Arcade for those who haven’t been exposed to them yet is fat groovy metalcore with the drummer doubling as synthesist
BOUNDARIES
It’s started cooling down but the crowd is absolutely warming up. Boundaries take to the stage with that heavy fat rumbling backbone that I love so much. Again, giving thanks to @lordrobsatan for gifting me those Loops, this is the bottom end that interferes with your puls,e where you can feel the kick drum through the floor.
Boundaries are a hell of a lot of fun to shoot, although keeping up focus in the low light is tricky, given how relentlessly the vocalist is stalking the stag,e but holy crap what a performance
Like clockwork, at the end of the third song, as we’re moving out of the photo pit, the crowd surfers started coming over, a few of them two-stepping their way out of the neutral zone with massive grins on their faces after their wild ride and so the tone of the night has been well and truly set
FIT FOR A KING
The punters are definitely warmed up now. Security guards lined the pit from the first note, ready for the inevitable influx of surfers.
Fit For a King hits the stage with their trademark mix of groove-heavy clean sections, interspersed with screaming guitar solos and stomping breakdowns and stomping is right. As the bass player tried to break the stage @rixoncaprures had warned me, so I’m prepared when he starts spinning his instrument around his necklike a wild man. This Texan metalcore band put on a super energetic and well-crafted show with the setlist pulled from across their career.
THE PLOT IN YOU
It’s time for the main event,
A long intro, building tension and long enough for us to notice something has changed – there are special effects staff standing next to the innocuous black tubes we’ve been ignoring all night. Confetti cannons go off, and it’s officially ON. Pandemonium ensues.
PICA has a deep photo pit, and it is FULL – security catching an endless stream of crowd surfers, tirelessly pulling people out of the enthusiastic press in front of them until vocalist Landon Tewers stops the song to check on the crowd – remember the golden rule kids – if someone falls pick them up, The Plot In You are true masters of their craft.
Alternating between heavy riffs, those familiar thumping breakdowns and the heartstring-pulling verses that appeal to elder emos and their spiritual offspring alike, it’s really easy to see how they’ve sold out this tour and why they needed a venue upgrade here in Melbourne. I moved to the back of the venu.e We all clocked the pyro on the front of the stage, and I suspect it’s going to be big.
As the introduction to viral hit ‘Forgotten’ rings out across the heaving venue, I nudge Rob and lift my camera before stating the obvious
“It’s gonna be this one”
Absolutely not disappointed – the heat from the pyro rolls out across the room as the audience fluctuates between mesmerised and screaming the lyrics. And of course everyone understands the assignment, as that ever relatable bridge hits the audience, fills it with their chests out exactly like every in reel you’ve ever seen of what is arguably the band’s most recognisable and popular anthem
“I have spent my life chasing things that have only brought me pain – in the end, when I’m dead, I hope it was for something”
It’s anthemic – a phrase of shared recognition where everyone feels seen and, for a moment in time, knows that they are not alone.
Landon grabs a moment to thank everyone for taking the time out of their life to share a special night with them before continuing with the set and finishing out with fan favourite ‘Left Behind’ – and a special night it certainly was, the likes of which will not often be repeated.
The crowd disperses quietly into the night, soaking in the afterglow of an experience they won’t soon forget.
Massive thanks to BANKS ARCADE, BOUNDARIES, FIT FOR A KING, THE PLOT IN YOU, The Crew at PICA and DALLAS DOES PR for having us!
