#rival fire

Unfortunately, these last few shows have been without support artist Clint Boge (The Butterfly Effect) but were accompanied by Melbourne’s Rival Fire and self-proclaimed “brutal pop” musicians Osaka Punch from Brisbane.

Osaka Punch kicked off the night so loudly they could be heard half way down South Terrace. Upon arriving it was clear that anyone without earplugs (including myself) was purposely keeping distance between themselves and the deafening speakers. Aside from the slightly excessive volume, it was hard not give Osaka your attention, particularly during their last track Electric Jam On Boogie; an all-inclusive rock-out instrumental finale that had everybody’s head nodding.

Around 8:30pm Rival Fire took the stage with lots of grins and good vibes to share. The course of the tour has obviously sparked a fond friendship between the lads as their set was full of little pranks set by DLC. For one, the backdrop during their set displayed a convincing band logo that read Robbie Barnes and the Farnsy Three, poking fun at vocalist Rob and his relation to famous vocalist John Farnham. “Last night he (Kim Benzie) gave me a literal baggie of dicks,” laughs Farnham during another prank that heard the sound effect of a woman moaning over the speakers. Jokes aside, Rival Fire performed tracks mostly off their new EP Riot, and took the time to thank the tour’s credentials and the fans for supporting Australian alternative rock music at the end of their set.

When the lights dimmed anyone could have expected Farnsy’s The Voice to introduce DLC to the stage, prompting a short in-crowd singalong right before jumping straight into the first track from 2010 album This Is The Warning. Following Here We Divide was fan favourite of the night, In Plain Sight which stirred the modest crowd into a small mosh. As a five-man show, it’s easy to imagine a lot of noise coming from the Brisbanites, and there was. So much so that vocalist Benzie was often drowned out over the soaring guitars and predominant drum kick. However, Benzie’s sweet soprano vocals endured, belting out title track The Burning Number mid-set and oldie-but-goodie Disconnect And Apply from the self-titled EP; the musical debut that’s now almost a decade old.

“Who saw us back then, at the Rosemount gig?” Benzie’s reminisces back to 2007 when the band first toured Perth. “You were there? You weren’t there?” he converses with the most engaged fans near the front of the stage. “Well fuck you then!” he jokes with one guy shaking his head, proceeding then to talk about the band’s progress and the gratitude they have for their long-time fans. One highlight of the evening was Luke William’s minute-long drum solo not long before the encore, showcasing a real drumming talent while the rest of the band recuperated. Closing with popular tracks Tremors and The Mile from the EP that paved their musical careers, Dead Letter Circus are genuine performers dedicated to keeping the flame of alternative rock alive and well in Australia today.