Black Stone From The Sun @ Badlands Bar
w/ New Talk, Pat Chow, Candy Guts, The Psychotic Reactions
Saturday, June 23, 2018
It was a Saturday night and a night that had been a long time coming. Perth band Black Stone From The Sun were celebrating their first studio album launch at Badlands.
The Psychotic Reactions were first up and opened the night with 5 4, Lead and Ruleless Lines. They are rocky, moody, melodic and uplifting – all at the same time and just made you want to get up and dance.
They also played All In My Head, Phone and Mistakes. “Cheers! Thanks heaps for having us on the bill. We are stoked to support our favourite Perth band! Congratulations Black Stone From The Sun” lead singer Hannah Smillie said. They were the perfect opener for the night and set the mood well. The only bad thing about their set was that there wasn’t more people in watching them.
Candy Guts were next up with Cool, Nailbiter, Vax and What If…? If you haven’t seen this band yet, then you are definitely in for a treat. They have a great sound and energy on stage and clearly have a lot of respect for each other which is plainly obvious to see and just adds to the pleasure of seeing them play.
They ended their set with Isolation, Anxiety and Go Away. “Thanks for sticking around to watch us guys! It means a lot!” Troy Stockley said to the audience. “Have a fucking sick night!”
One of Perth’s staples, Pat Chow are now a four-piece with the addition of guitarist Ashby Ranson. While they were great before, it’s just served to give them that extra dimension that nobody realised they needed until it happened. They opened their set with Green Eyes, Are You Ok?, Make It Hard and Bad Thoughts.
Pat Chow is one of those bands that is just so much fun to watch and to dance to and Saturday night was no exception. They ended their set with Anonorat, Ice-Cream, Pleasure Unit and Martyrdom. An excellent set that certainly didn’t suffer any fools.
While you may not know their new name as well, you certainly know their music and their style. New Talk (FKA Rag n’ Bone) were next on stage. And what can you really say about New Talk other than they always put on an amazing show? They opened with Solitude, Memory and Filmers. Kiera Owen’s vocals are sublime and powerful and just blow you away each and every time.
It was also amazing to see drummer Jamie Gallagher put so much into the performance, even though he had just played with Pat Chow. While you could see he was tired, he didn’t let that stop him and, as always, put 100% into it. They finished up with The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Past and Red. They may have a new name but they just keep getting better and better.
It was finally time for the men of the hour, Perth’s most powerful two-piece, Sean Mackay and Jack Nelson of Black Stone From The Sun. They took their spots on stage and opened with Vice Versa, Smile, Sleep Deprivation and Paralyzed In Dreams.
While their new album is OH SO good, unfortunately, recordings will just never accurately capture the power of a live performance. Black Stone From The Sun is a band that you really need to see live to fully appreciate the raw power that Mackay and Nelson have on stage. It really is something else to behold and everyone there was just loving the new songs. A small but decent mosh had formed at the front and just added to the excitement.
The night ended with You And Yourself, Tibetan Sky Funeral, Anatomy and Blood – and disappointment that they didn’t come back on for an encore (not that anyone really blamed them with the way they play their hearts out). “Thank you so much for coming down,” Mackay said.
The night started with so much anticipation and hope and definitely exceeded any and all expectations. Perth has so much great music on offer and Saturday night proved it with five fantastic acts. It’s just a shame that there was so much competition because really, the place should have been packed to the rafters.
KAREN LOWE
Photos by Adrian Thomson
