Reviewed on Thursday October 6.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a rocker who harbours fond memories of your noughties emo heydays, or you’re a young’un new to the world of rock gigs: when you go to see Escape The Fate you enter a place where everyone comes together in love. From the supports to the beers, the hyped-up crowd to the insane guitar riffs the group bring, there’s nothing about an ETF show that doesn’t make you feel good.
A massive contrast to the band’s last, admittedly lukewarm Sydney appearance, Dream On Dreamer warmed up the stage with a red hot energy, absolutely slaying it. It didn’t take much for the crowd to get going, with frontman Marcel Gadacz crashing into their collective evenings with a familiar relentless energy, the band’s mere presence creating a circle in the pit of epic proportions.
Undeterred by a brief power cut toward the end of their set, the band showed massive dedication and an admirable energy that left their devoted fans well and truly hyped for the night’s headliners, while also drumming up considerable support for their own material.
Later, when frontman Craig Mabbitt cried out that Escape The Fate don’t play Australia often enough, the crowd wildly agreed. The subtle dubstep undertones of most of the band’s songs gave the audience something they could really move to, with the moshing crowd encouraged by the unabashedly appreciative band themselves. Shows at Mannning Bar rarely rock as hard as this one did.
Breaking into powerful numbers like ‘Ashley’ and ‘Live For Today’ there was no song new or old that Escape The Fate performed with either a lack of energy or interest. They offered up a continual feast for the ears and a wonder for the eyes as Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft and Thomas “TJ” Bell marched around the stage with an unironic swagger and drummer Robert Ortiz beat his drums into a frenzy. Though very different, each member of the group exuded pure sophistication and swagger.
Crazy light displays, manic riffs, killer dress sense and a warm, phenomenal frontman defined the set, but to be honest, the best part of a show had to be the bedfellows we all walked home with, and we left the show with the bells of Notre Dame in our ears and a maniacal grin on our faces.
