PLTS
Four piece indie rockers from Byron Bay PLTS were the chosen support for the gold coast show on the ‘Death To Misery Tour’. Although their hair styles and matching grey shirts gave off a Matt Corby vibe, PLTS were in fact rockers with a twist and their atmospheric take on modern day rock reminded me of bands such as The Foo Fighters. Most of their tracks were strongly guitar driven but even then front man Kit’s powerful vocals shone through. Crowd favourite track was definitely Astoria which is an upbeat groove vibe that made the audience dance.
Ocean Grove
Insane experimental hardcore outfit Ocean Grove rocked the bloody house down from the minute they walked onto the stage. Funky clothes and over the top expressions made it impossible to look away and with every moment that passed their on stage presence captivated even the lost souls in the room. Playing tracks such as You Know Something We Don’t and Intimate Alien made the crowd loose their minds as their anger and passionate fuelled songs revved up the vibe to new heights. Ocean Grove are party starters and with their hip hop infused easy to mosh to hardcore music is making an original and welcomed breakthrough. Crowd favourites were Lights On Kind Lover and These Boys Light Fires which had lyrics sung loud and hands held high.
Ocean Grove also announced they are set to release 3rd album ‘The Rhapsody Tapes’ which will be triple j’s feature album next week!
Hellions
Sydney hardcore punks Hellions were not messing around. Right from the get go they picked up their instruments and showed us what they were made of. Hardcore fans littered the floor giving the band every inch of support they could as mosh pits formed and limbs started to fly. Hellions played killer tracks such as Lotus Eater and Hellions which were both ambient and extremely heavy. Hellions were an excellent entree to our main course and the crowds appetites were rampant.
The Amity Affliction
Gympie post hardcore legends The Amity Affliction brought the moment we had all be waiting for. Starting off slow, Amity opened their set with single I Bring The Weather With Me which kicked off the first sing along of many for the night. Plastic balls were then thrown into the crowd before the starting notes of 2012 single Open Letter were played and the crowd started to mosh. Left to right, front to back bodies were flying through the air and although limbs were almost acting like weapons, fans were having the time of their lives. Amity made sure to cover every fan favourite, tracking right back to their 2012 album ‘Chasing Ghosts’ to 2014 album ‘Don’t Lean On Me’ and their latest release 2016 album ‘This Could Be Heart Break’. Amity played a sweet and short mashup of I Hate Hartley and Youngbloods before kicking off one of the fan favourite tracks The Weigh Down which kicked off an insane circle pit. With each song I noticed a fast improvement in Ahrens vocals, mainly tailored towards his consistency from the first song to the last. Joels un clean vocals have always been a force to be wreck end with but even his vocals had improved with each note sitting perfectly with the next. Amity have such a vast and dedicated following that It didn’t matter what song they played, because someone in the crowd loved it. Whether fans were singing at the top of their lungs or moshing to death it was all about love and showing their appreciation Amity. Ending their set with a three song encore consisting of tracks Pittsburgh, Don’t Lean On Me and This Could Be Heartbreak left fans on a high as every last bit of energy each person had was propelled onto the stage. With a new album under their belt and a massive musical repertoire to pick from, it was nice to hear Amity perform songs I hadn’t heard live before as well as still playing all their golden oldies. Their tour was called ‘Death To Misery’ and I can guarantee that not one person left the convention centre un happy.
