Live Reviews : Arakeye, LUNG, caution:thieves & The Unset @ The Workers Club, Melbourne 14/08/2016

The Workers Club in Fitzroy seems to be steadily becoming the go-to place for Australia’s prog scene when in Melbourne; as I’ve seen a number of bands there at this point of many names and from a wide majority of the states in this country. But given the intimate and quaint atmosphere of this locale, it is also rather unsurprising that that has become the case. Not far from the likes of the Melbourne Museum and the Royal Exhibition Building, and in the centre of the arty hub of Fiztroy, the Workers Club, as I’ve described in the past, is a neat little treasure on the corner of Brunswick Street and Gertrude. One that if you plan to visit Melbourne soon or haven’t been there in the past, I’d definitely recommend checking out.

Passing through the bar area where people were swapping stories and a few beers before the new week begins again, I came through to the back where after my name checked out and passing through the door, I enter in the small little area that makes up the band room. It was pretty quiet and empty when I first arrived just after doors, with only a handful of people there for the opening act, The Unset; many of whom were crew and family it seemed before the show had begun. By the time The Unset – who had travelled all the way down from Adelaide for this show – took to the stage, the turn out was average. Thankfully, numbers did fill in as the night went on.

The Unset were a four-piece, but following the leave of Tom Drahos from the band, they still performed strong as a trio, and kicked things off with an immediate atmospheric (almost, cosmic) tone that set the mood for the evening. Experimenting with loop pedals and shifts in sound, as the sustain from vocalist/guitarist Elian Hamilton’s instrument rang heavily through the amps, he announced softly, “Hey, we’re The Unset.” A soft-spoken frontman to put it plain, there was very little crowd engagement in their set as The Unset just went about and did their thing. And in the few times that he did speak, it was muttered and mostly under his breath. It made things a bit indifferent for me, despite their clear musicianship. That being said, however, their drummer, Simon Ielasi, was the standout of their performance – denoting a strong sense of technical style in his performance, with tempo shifts and unusual patterns that contrasted well against Hamilton’s understated vocal approach. It was all about the atmosphere, and when things kicked into high gear, they did so wonderfully. Although the use of loop pedals transitioning between bridges and the ending of songs weren’t always smooth (couple second delays at parts, and an awkward moment where the sustain carried involuntarily for a minute or two after the song had ended), overall it was a strong performance and a good way to open the night’s proceedings.

Following on were caution:thieves from Melbourne. Describing themselves on their Facebook page as “melodic/heartfelt” music, this vague description seems rather fitting of caution:thieves; a band who danced about with varying and interesting styles, some more well done than others. With elements of melodic rock and tinges of hardcore, their frontman Nicholas Simonsen was as animated on stage as he was charming to watch. His vocals, however, didn’t always meld as well with the band’s unusual stylings as they probably should have. When caution:thieves brought the music down to a melodic and rhythmic level, it worked. But when the band entered their heavier and more thrashier moments, Simonsen’s vocal style didn’t fit what the rest of the band were doing, and it pulled me out of their performance. That being said, how in-sync with one another guitarist Chris Meekin and bassist Toby Peterson-Stewart were was an awesome thing to watch. Furthermore, discovering this was Meekin’s first performance with the band was even more impressive; as his play-style was one of the highlights of their set. When caution:thieves brought things down with a mid-tempo level, they felt at their best and most in rhythm with one another.

Melbourne’s LUNG were a revelation this evening. In many ways, they stole the show. Being a pleasant mix between hard rock and distinct prog-metal stylings, the five-piece that make up LUNG had the best rhythm section of the night. They were tight, through and through. The biggest problem LUNG faced wasn’t a fault of their own, but something that had been plaguing this night since it began: the mixes. It’s the biggest thing about the Workers Club. It’s a hit-and-miss at times. Tonight saw the latter. While not disastrous by any means, it was distracting in the sense that, as it was with the bands before them too, frontman Liam Burke’s vocals were at times drowned out by the excessive and tad overbearing number of guitars given; that just flooded the amplifiers with noise. To the point where people in the crowd began hanging back from the main stage. As LUNG’s set continued, however, this issue was at last resolved and for the rest of the evening felt balanced. Returning to LUNG, their set was captivating and engaging, with Burke cracking jokes and the band letting their music speak for itself.

The headliner of the evening had arrived, with Melbourne natives Arakeye taking to the stage in support of their new single, “Protagonist” (from their forthcoming debut full-length album, Atmosfears). I’ve seen Arakeye once before when they performed with Orsome Welles last year, and they definitely left an impression on me then too. Tonight was no different. With a new stage set up that comprised of a backing screen montage as well as two TV monitors (just below stage and on an amp on stage) displaying the band’s logo, alongside a myriad of footage of political and social commentary, it showed current affairs, with videos of police brutality and so on to the rhyme of “We are the resistance, persistence is the catalyst” – lines from the new single. It was quite a bold display, but one that immediately grabbed and drew you in. Jay Fullwood is still one of the more unique vocalists in a band I’ve seen, jumping seamlessly between clean, melodic vocals to rapping. The best part about Arakeye is how each piece of the song is structured around these aspects, with moments that line up in key with Fullwood’s cleans, to harder, more melodic-edged moments that play off the rap style. It all builds to a very unusual and interesting sonic wall, and it melds together in a way that is natural and organic. The samples used in their set further added another layer to Arakeye’s performance, heightening the aura behind their music.

The new single “Protagonist” sounded great and drew a strong response, with the TV monitors and their messages complementing what was happening up on stage. Given the smallness of this arena, it made the impact of their show all the more powerful and effective. Arakeye definitely had the best mix of the evening, being the most balanced and the only time all elements on stage blended together without one instrument or voice overpowering something else in an unattractive way.

There was a small interval stage that happened about midway through “Protagonsit”, where darkcore style sounds took over the amps; evoking an unsettling atmosphere. Soon Jay Fullwood came back out on stage carrying a megaphone and began to sing the aforementioned lines of “We are the resistance, persistence is the catalyst”, before returning to the mic. Using the rest of their set to alternate between the two added a really neat and unexpected element to their set that I enjoyed a lot. It resonated their message in a way unexpected to me, and gave their performance its own style and flavour. His rap flow was admirable, and as Fullwood maintained highs that had an impressive duration, the guitars of Andrew Hassett brought fine rhythm to the performance; with Tyson O’Leary’s drumming and Chris Fullwood’s bass the backbone of the band’s live show and sound.

With the exception of Arakeye, all three of the support acts tonight were new to me. I discovered a handful of fine new acts that help make up Australia’s scene, and on a whole, Arakeye’s single launch was a success, earning good numbers with strong applause. A great night.

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