Live Reviews : Caligula’s Horse, Chaos Divine & Enlight @ Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne 08/04/2016

Words: Jonathon Besanko

Images: Mark Hoffmann

(Click here for the full gallery)

I’d never been to the Ding Dong Lounge before, so I was quite excited to check it out tonight. Hidden away midway down Market Lane were the words emboldened on a vertical sign in red, ‘Ding Dong’, with ‘Lounge’ written fancily below it. Tonight was sold out, and it showed. With a line that wrapped around almost from one end to the other, it certainly felt like the sell out night it was. However, in a bit of a disappointing turn, turn to how small the Ding Dong Lounge actually was upstairs, doors had opened at 9pm, and by 9.20 (which is around the time, I finally managed to get in), they were still passing people in. As a result, despite getting there on time, I sadly missed about two-thirds of Enlight‘s set. From what I could gather though, the band sounded very tight live, and one of the things that immediately grabbed me about this particular venue was the sound mixing and quality. It was top-notch, which for a night full of prog-based bands was indeed imperative, due to the complexity of their individual arrangements.

Enlight

Enlight were a quintet, with a very strong female lead vocalist in Rachael Graham. Graham’s range was impressive, and she was able to capture significant levels of harmony and emotion in only a few notes. The serene nature of her vocals complemented the other elements of the band, no least of which included – in an interesting and unexpected turn – harsh vocals from the drummer, Max Missingham, and one of the guitarists, Nguyen Pham. In fact, every member of the band offered backing vocals in some form or another. This camaraderie really gave a strength to Enlight’s sound, and by the end of the their set had me craving more. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, since at the end of their set, they got a resounding applause with people crying out “go again!”

As the second and final opener to the evening, Perth’s Chaos Divine were amazing. Travelling all the way from Western Australia, these progressive heavy rockers were a standout to me for the night. That’s full compliment to Chaos Divine given how amazing both other bands sounded tonight. Starting to a very driving melodic rhythm and soon-to-be synchronised headbanging, Chaos Divine had the crowd in their palms in no time; with others bouncing and headbanging along to them, and the band enshrouded by beautifully dark and encapsulating emerald lighting. Playing a solid set, one of the songs that stood out was of course, “Tides”. With vocalist David Anderton noting how they believed this to be the first time playing this song outside of Perth, his charming attitude on stage had him telling little anecdotes and jokes about things to do with the song – such as the “essence of wetness!” – that earned him a few laughs in the crowd. Chaos Divine were another first for me tonight, seeing them live for the first time ever. They made a fan of me in no time. There was amazing sense of flow and style to their music. You could allow yourself to be swallowed by it. Though I will say that Anderton did struggle a little with some of the higher and more prolonged notes. His normal register, however, sounded solid; and furthermore, his occasional transition to harsh vocals worked incredibly well.

Chaos Divine

Though Chaos Divine’s set was briefly plagued by a small moment midway through where all systems suddenly failed and everything shut down, the band and crowd kept it light (with people calling out for a drum solo), and thankfully, in no tie, it came back, with the audience clapping them back in. Mentioning this year being their 10 year anniversary and that they’d likely be back in Melbourne sooner than later, Chaos Divine finished on a great note; with a track that was both heavy and aggressive, and basically designed to headbang to.

It had come time for the main act, and Caligula’s Horse took to the stage with enormous applause. Opening with “Rust”, Caligula’s Horse kicked off the evening in style, painted beneath blues and green lighting. Once again, I must stress how amazing the sound was tonight. If this is always the case with the Ding Dong Lounge, it’ll certainly be a venue I’ll need to visit more often. It brought out every piece of Caligula’s Horse in such a way that before you knew it, you were swept up in their aura. Leading into “Bloom/Marigold”, vocalist Jim Grey jokingly says, “You guys can take over if you want!” as the crowd sang with fervour. “We thought we’d give you guys a mix of songs from the old back catalogue,” Jim noted, before leading into the song, “Atlas”.

Caligula’s Horse

One of the best aspects about this band’s live set is how well their sound blends. Between the complexity and melody of the guitar solos to the compelling nature of the drumming, one of the things I loved especially was how both guitarists – Sam Vallen and Zac Greensill – bounced off one another, and played off each other’s phrasing in different guitar tones. Offering a birthday wish to their dear friend Mitch, who’d apparently travelled all the way here from Brisbane (the band’s hometown), it was great to see how much Caligula’s Horse adore their fans. The crowd engagement was constantly there, with Grey giving an anecdote at point about how back in the day, it was a common thing for people to jump along to the music; coaxing the audience into doing just that for “Daughter of the Mountain”.

One of the most moving and powerful moments, however, came from Jim Grey’s spoken word piece about refugees and the “abhorrent” state at which children and family’s are cared for in Australia. Reciting a poem about Charon in the lead up to “Alone in the World”, Grey kept using the phrase, “We should all carry a coin for the boatman”. It was a significant part of their performance. Nearing the end, as they close out the final moments of “Turntail”, the wonderful new single of which this tour is based around, Caligula’s Horse entered their encore, at first asking fans if they preferred they play “City Has No Empathy” or “Dark Hair Down”? Before then announcing, “This is all bullshit, we’re going to do both of them!” It closed out the night on a high note, leaving myself and many fans satisfied.

Caligula’s Horse are on tour now. Tickets available now through Wild Thing Presents and Oztix. Don’t miss out!

Saturday, April 9: Amplifier, Perth

Thursday, April 14: The Pier, Port Macquarie*

Friday, April 15: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Saturday, April 16: The Basement, Canberra

Sunday, April 17: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Saturday, April 23: The Zoo, Brisbane

*Chaos Divine not appearing

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