British India @ Badlands
w/ Spacey Jane
Friday, October 27, 2017
Tucked into the grungy main gig room at Badlands Bar, British India smashed out a top notch set on Friday evening in their iconic loud and fast fashion as part of their Forgetting the Future national tour. The tour kicked off in September and spans across a whopping 32-date live run of shows which summon nostalgic throwbacks to the early days of their 10-year spanning career.
With the massive success of their previous five albums, the Melbourne outfit have carved out an iconic sound that has propelled a blissful ascension to rock-royalty status in Australia. In recent months Triple J have had the single Precious on heavy rotation drenching the airwaves with the intense stadium anthem hyping up the anticipation among fans for what was to come. Their sixth studio album Forgetting the Future dropped on September 22 and with it the band have reaffirmed their legendary status as trail blazers of local talent.
The room began to buzz to life halfway through an incredible performance from local Perth rockers Spacey Jane who delivered an epic set. Their gritty garage band style unleashed feelings of teen angst as their song Still Running had the mosh filling up fast. Feeding the Family slowed things down and really showed off their distinctive style in an easy clean-cut rock and roll number. This is definitely a local act to keep an ear out for as I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more from Spacey Jane in the future.
As British India emerged onto stage screaming fans leaned over the front with desperate expressions anticipating an intense night ahead. Exploding into their first track Black & White Radio from their 2007 album Guillotine, I was initially surprised by their choice of such a throwback opener, but the electric vibes emitting from stage through the crowd had me immersed in the music. Lead singer Declan Melia (donning a stellar Jurassic Park t-shirt) thrashed about the stage putting on a show filled with energy, however it seemed as though his microphone was either not loud enough or he wasn’t projecting his voice. The band belted out the track brilliantly but seemed to simultaneously muffle out the vocals; although the issue did seem to disappear later on in the performance.
The show was absolutely laden with nostalgic reminders of why British India is such an iconic rock band within Australia. Featuring tracks from albums Thieves, Nothing Touches Me, Avalanche, and of course their latest Forgetting the Future, it was certainly a show best enjoyed by the hardcore fans. Popular singles from their previous LP Nothing Touches Me such as Suddenly and Wrong Direction sent an extra shock wave of vividly explosive energy through the mosh pit. With only four features from their latest album, I was surprised to see less focus on the recent work the tour is celebrating — however, despite this the return to old favourites was certainly an unexpected treat.
The highlight of the night came with their performance of hit single I Can Make You Love Me from 2013 album Controller. The audience swayed and sung in unison with the angsty melodies as Melia’s distinctively haunting vocals occupied every inch of the room.
SARAH DAY
Photos by Simon Tubey Photography
