WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM

w/ Monarch

The Gaelic Club, Sydney – 20th February, 2010
The Basement, Canberra – 23rd February, 2010

I’ve been a big fan of Wolves since the release of their first album, have all their releases on cd and vinyl and have been eagerly anticipating these dates since the tour was announced late last year.

Things didn’t begin well in Sydney when they took stage earlier than the time stated on the front door of the venue and I missed the first song – usually not a big deal at most gigs but at WITTR it’s a quarter of the gig. Probably more when you consider their second song – Dia Artio, is a 5-6 minute instrumental. It wasn’t a huge deal and partly my fault anyway for wandering too far away I guess.

Apart from that, the sound was awesome and their musicianship is faultless. The live version of Dia Artio is much heavier than the studio recording then they dropped into Vastness and Sorrow which was a big moment and finished off with the best song on Black Cascade – Crystal Ammunition.

Fortunately there weren’t too many people at the Sydney show because the Gaelic Club seems to have halved in size since I was their last.

There was a big dampener at the Sydney show however. Someone took a flash photo of the band and got kicked and spat on by the singer. Okay, we were asked not to take photos and the camera guy was a moron, but to spit on him? I just thought it was a massive over reaction and judging by the bewildered looks of people around me and the mini-exodus of a number of the audience close to the stage I wasn’t alone.

Canberra turned out a larger audience than the show in Sydney and we were kept waiting until near 11pm before Monarch and WITTR finally arrived. They must have wondered what they had got themselves into as they hurried into the Basement to see the Marshall stacks balancing precariously on a milk crate. The Basement has potential but it’s looking a bit rundown.

I was not going to miss the start of WITTR this time and sat patiently while Monarch did their thing. Despite a few issues with the sound Wolves delivered another polished performance. It’s a pretty short set – about 45 min. I hate sitting through two hour marathons but I would like to have seen one or two more songs added to the playlist. Both sets in Sydney and Canberra ended with confused looks and chirps of ‘Is that it’ among the audience. There was no spitting or kicking I’m glad to say, despite a few idiots with their phones and their cameras.

It was a really good performance and they sound great but, I came away from both gigs feeling a bit disappointed. Something about their almost cold indifference towards the audience just doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t want a big Bruce Dickinson sing-along, but shit, just a couple of words of acknowledgement or just something… anything. I went to see Portal the week before and I feel like they made more of a connection with the audience. And those guys wear executioner masks!

I know they probably feel like the music should do the talking, and it does – they sound awesome. I wanted to say g’day and thank them for coming out but they just seem unapproachable and angry. It just put a big dent in my fascination with this band. I had planned to watch them again in Sydney and Melbourne but just wasn’t inspired enough from the Gaelic and Canberra experience.

Wolves In The Throne Room – Setlist
1. Ahrimanic Trance
2. Dia Artio
3. Vastness and Sorrow
4. Crystal Ammunition

Review written by Pete Willams.