I am absolutely loving Aussie rock right now. So many brilliant bands coming out of this country, it's mad impressive, particularly for someone like myself who has only recently gotten into the scene.
So I went and caught British India at the Corner Hotel last night, the first of two shows for the launch of their latest album, Avalanche. Openers City Riots, hailing from Adelaide, were really great, however this was the first show I've ever seen people too scared to be up front for. Really strange considering how solid their music was.
Big Scary were up next, a two piece (male singer/guitarist/keys, female drummer) who made a shitload of noise. Awesome stuff.
There was a solid gap between Big Scary and British India, and the mob was getting restless. I'd never been to a gig like this before, so me and my mate were right up front ready to go. Chants of 'Bri-tish, Bri-tish!' were hollered from the gaping mouths of the beer-swilling suburban hooligans, and this should have indicated what was to come.
Fuck I was shocked. I'd heard of 'slam pits' before but fuck me, up close, shit is hectic. If this happened at a Hip Hop gig, full scale riots would break out and it'd get mighty messy. But not here. The sweaty meatheads were happy to throw each other around as hard as they could, with damn near everyone around me screaming the words to every song. I was entranced; until some short ass broad knocked my camera out of my hand, which was duly stomped upon and the lens knocked firmly out of place.
That kinda ruined it for me, but I tried to put it out of my mind and enjoy the rest of the show. The boys were intense the whole time, the crowd loved it, so much energy. I really learned a lot about stage presentation from these fellas. I'd love to go again, but next time I'll stay far back from said pit of slam.
Check out the videos for the two singles from the album below.
Beneath The Satellites
Vanilla