Reviewed on Friday August 12
Reports on Friday night of a minor earthquake in the CBD are today being revealed as a false alarm – there was no earthquake. Billy Talent were just in town giving an unprecedented performance with an earth-shaking energy that left their fans quivering where they stood.
Local legends The Lazys opened for our Canadian brethren, bursting onto the stage with an infectious spirit, playing with an energy great enough for an arena performance. The Lazys have the potential to be the AC/DC of this generation; stand out song ‘Black Rebel’ rolled out with a wicked guitar riff and double time vocals, while ‘Shake It Like You Mean It’ brought kinky tales of whisky to the set.
The showmanship of this group is immense – guitarist Matt Morris jumped into the crowd and, strutting right out to the sound desk, ripped into a rhythm-fuelled solo atop the barrier, his fingers crawling over his fretboard like ants at a picnic. There’s just so much to say in terms of how good these guys are. Best just go listen to them: you won’t regret it.
Exploding onto the stage in a blur of red and black, Billy Talent opened with the timeless ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’, which was met with an unprompted clap along and closed with deafening applause. Addressing the crowd and asking if they wanted to go old school, frontman Benjamin Kowalewicz appeased the emphatic screams with a stellar performance of ‘This Suffering’, the absolute might of the band’s presence created a wave of bodies that moved across the floor like a whirlpool.
One thing that stood out was the limited amount of smart phones that were out for photo-taking – this was a show where punk rockers come to exercise. There was no room for technology – not when there was sensational music to be experienced.
And Billy Talent are just that – sensational. Their show was a terrific blend of Billy Talent’s earliest songs and tastes of the new album, tracks that showcased a more hard rock feel that didn’t affect the lengths to which the fans got involved. The entire set was just a rollercoaster of emotions and never was a single body idle.
Billy Talent always seem to bring a fresh face to their shows and a tenacious love for their fans that is very obviously heartfelt, so each time they perform the earth shakes with the pounding of drums, the building rocks with extravagant punk vocals and no one stands still.
