Though it went unacknowledged, Thursday night’s relocated gig acted as the unintended eulogy for one of Sydney’s late, great venues, and the former home of shoegazing. Newtown Social Club, we hardly knew ye.
Still, if ever the ‘blackgaze’ fan base had a natural place of shelter, it would the Manning Bar, the same venue that’s been championing The Bird’s Robe Collective and the extended post-rock family. Amusingly, Manning may not be used to a crowd as calm and reserved as this – its security were certainly overzealous with the more drunkenly rapturous punters.
Opening act The Veil themselves seemed rather introverted, quietly making their way through their set as the growing crowd gently encouraged them. Their prog-heavy classic rock approach was hampered, however, by an unappealing frontman – Che deBoehmler’s listless baritone read less ethereal than anaesthetising, his guitar work patchy. They aim to be so many genres at once that their defining post-Cure aesthetic is lost in the wash.
Germ fared better, with a sound hewing closer to Deafheaven than the headliners. As it stands, this critic is convinced that Germ’s downcast black metal makes them better suited to the studio, as their performance is almost in absentia. The instrumentalists – all five of them – take “shoegazing” very literally, even in the absence of pedals. Frontman Tim Yatras has a potent scream indeed; if only he’d perform with it, instead of vanishing between the words.
Through the crack between closed curtains, Neige’s ghostly fingers emerged; it seems he was as eager to break the cocoon between Alcest and their audience as we were. Six years is a significant gap, and the band acknowledged the time lost by touching on its entire back catalogue, leaving no stone unturned.
To see Alcest play is to drift untethered into hypnotised bliss, as the quartet conjure and curate waves of sound with masterful control. Therein lies the difference between Neige and those who’ve walked in his footsteps through the genre he spawned – whereas the opening acts quickly got lost in their own creations, getting high on their own supply, Alcest remain anchored as they unclip you, the listener, from your own corporeal form.
With a gig like this, too much is never enough. The absence of Kodama’s ‘Untouched’ was notable, but so many glorious memories filled its void – ‘Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde’, celebrating its tenth anniversary, and strong representation from Écailles De Lune including the “dumb song about the ocean” ‘Sur L’océan Couleur De Fer’.
Every track from Kodama elevated the atmosphere in the room – it is the most gleaming expression of Alcest’s intentions yet, and perfectly suited to a live set. With the Manning Bar’s excellent acoustics and a clearly talented engineer on the dials, the already formidable breakdown of ‘Oiseaux De Proie’ became tidal, crashing against us with just the right amount of force. Long-time drummer Winterhalter has redefined blast-beating, restraining its assaulting qualities to foreground its myriad textures; with Zero’s elvish harmonies and Indria Saray’s calm, grounding presence, the band has never felt better.
Alcest closed with ‘Délivrance’, a fittingly introspective track that reminded us of who we were before we arrived, and to what new state we ourselves had now been delivered.
Alcest played Manning Bar on Thursday April 27.
