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 Photo: Aaron Sammut
Hearing about arrests and multiple ejections on the first of these two sold out Parkway Drive shows well in advance, I rock up on the second night expecting chaos. But the fresh-faced all-ages crowd filing calmly through the doors is totally disarming; the average age must be 16 tonight. There’s an interesting buzz attached to sell-out all ages shows, and Parkway Drive are no strangers to such intensity, yet it seems some of the reinforced security team are.
Appreciating the thick crowd gathered early are Sydney’s No Apologies in their first Brisbane show, their entry accompanied by a humming Didgeridoo sample. Covering the old-school hardcore sound with distinction, I’m impressed by the sound they pull from the P.A. as openers. The first ejections occur during their first song with the restrained evictees appearing more confused than intimidating. A pre-recorded behaviour notice seems to rile Her Nightmare’s vocalist Baina and it takes an impromptu circle pit through opening track No Heaven, No Hell to cheer the big man up. They introduce a new drummer with the track Prisoner, his double kick mechanically up to the job. Burning Bridges contains about ten times the power live with the crowd reciprocating to offer up a gang of shaking fists throughout their set. Fronting for what seems like an emerging slew of metal and hardcore bands are California’s The Warriors, with the goateed vocalist Marshall Licthenwaldt bearing a slight resemblance in style and sound with Sick Of It All’s Lou Koller. With Charlie Alvarez recently added as second guitarist, Javier Zarate is free to roam the fret board with his fingers and also the stage using a wireless guitar set up. A hooded Winston McCall emerges quietly to scream along, his disappearance as mysterious as his arrival. The highlight of this set comes toward the end, with a beefed up cover of Rage Against The Machine’s Bulls On Parade adding a twist of familiarity with significant currency. Even with darkness enveloping the audience, a crest of excitement is palpable when waiting for Byron’s Parkway Drive to begin. Chants swell and ease before the tension piques as the opening sample from new album Horizons rings out from silence. Projected art and effective lighting visually reinforce the incredibly polished sound these guys bring to the stage; this is one of the year’s most significant local releases and this launch doesn’t disappoint. It’s hard to believe the album’s only been out a week as fans seem to have lyrics memorised, and show it by almost drowning out McCall through tracks such as Boneyard, Feed ‘Em To The Pigs and Dead Man’s Chest. An enormous roar greets older tracks Give Me A D and Romance Is Dead before they abscond for a break, the band looking overwhelmed by the crowd’s fervent responsiveness. The darker Breaking Point opens again before they reward their notoriously loyal fight-dance troupe in finishing with Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em. The band swaggers off exhausted as the hundreds of sweaty youngsters file out contemplating a possible future without an all-ages Arena. JAMES STAFFORD
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