Perth’s Electric State had a night to remember as they hosted the launch of their latest single ‘We’re Just Blood’ at Amplifier Capitol on Saturday 18 January. An eclectic collection of rock & metal genres gathered to help celebrate the single release and each & every band played to their strengths as they delivered their sets much to the enjoyment of the generous crowd, who stayed right up to the end of the night, with the final set coming from Perth’s Applebite who’s catchy, grungey vibe closed the evening.
Kicking the night off was Dying Kings, a black metal five-piece band with elements of doom and even though this is normally not my type of metal, the band played with such speed & precision that I was compelled to watch their set to the end. Led by vocalist Alora, who’s immense vocal power is quite incredible to hear made sure they set the standards for the night with this fast paced & powerful set.
Lo-Fire took to the stage next, as the building crowd started to filter through to the band room in greater numbers. The indie rockers add a dusting of punk to their music & were a welcomed addition to the line-up, bringing something quite different to the night. Comprising of Rory McDonald (guitar/lead vocals), Angus McRobbie (guitar/backing vocals), Simon Julian (bass/backing vocals) & Bryce McLachlan (drums) the guys entertained the appreciating crowd with their set.
If ever there was a band that had been working hard on self-promotion and a kind of ‘musical foreplay’ before their first live show then it was the next act to hit the stage, the wonderful Ashes of Autumn. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a debut live performance like AoA put in tonight and I was highly impressed with their material throughout their nine-song set and they certainly had plenty of support in the venue, as an army of ‘Ashes’ fans wearing band logo t-shirts filled the room.
With a short but sweet introduction, the band put their best foot forward and opened with one of the stand out songs of their set, the fantastic ‘Burn’. Vocalist Melaine Flynn with her mesmerizing stage presence & incredibly powerful vocal range was complimented by guitarists Mat Kenworthy, Bryn Haythournthwaite as well as Elle Jay (bass) & Ferret (drums) who make up the rest of the five-piece. Their songs were sharp, catchy & well written and delivered with a real professional edge… this is the type of rock that ticks all my boxes. ‘Give Up’, which was another strong track, is rumoured to be their first single release, with the band spending the last couple of days at Jay Huxtable’s Oracle Sound where they have been rehearsing & recording. Watch out for Ashes of Autumn – They look great, sound fantastic, have a real something about them and I can’t wait to see more of them. It will be interesting watching what they do in 2020.
Setlist: Burn, Smoke & Mirrors, Need to Know, Set Fire, Get Down, Refuse to Break, Lovesick Satellite, Give Up, Time
Just how the party hosts were going to follow that set was beyond me but if there is one thing that Electric State are up for it seems, it’s a challenge. And it was a challenge that lead vocalist Rob Viney grabbed with both hands and shook the living shit out of as the grungy hard rock four-piece jumped, screamed and delivered a wonderful headline set that took the night up that one more level in a way few other bands could have done.
Hitting the ground running the band kicked their ten-song set off with ‘Get in You’ which was quickly followed by ‘Riot’ with guitarist Russell Christie letting lose at every opportunity. The rhythm section of Bill Shaw (drums) & Paul Leahy (bass) held everything together with expert precision as Viney pulled out all the stops by downing shots, singing through megaphones and encouraging & working the euphoric crowd throughout. He even did his take on Coyote Ugly, striding across the rear bar as he performed to the masses. Entertaining, energetic & dynamic, this was as enjoyable for the audience as it was for the band, who delivered a fantastic version of The Beatles ‘Come Together’ before lifting three unsuspecting & slightly inebriated audience members up onto the stage to help perform the new single ‘We’re just Blood’. With mayhem & carnage complete Electric State closed their set with ‘Tomorrow’s Sun’ and the band took their final & well-deserved bow to a fantastic reception.
Setlist: Get in You, Riot, Government, Light it Up, Feb by The Algorithm, FMH, Come Together, Run, We’re Just Blood, Tomorrow’s Sun
Applebite – Beggers on Acid closed out the show and while much of the fanfare started to die down by this point, there was no denying the quality of the band’s performance and a musical style that was hard hitting and very much hook driven. The set was short but what we saw was nothing short of fantastic and a fitting way to end the night.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Linda Dunjey Photography
Electric State
Applebite, Ashes of Autumn
Lo-Fire, Dying Kings
