The Hi Fi, Melbourne
Wednesday September 10, 2014 :
Walking towards the venue, I was genuinely surprised with the length of the waiting line. Usually the line is quite small and is cleared within a few minutes of doors opening, however this line was exceptionally long which lifted the excitement of the patiently waiting music lovers. The Hi Fi is one of Melbourne’s medium sized venues which allows for an intimate performance where the crowd can get up nice and close.
The first act of the night were Melbourne based pop rock band, Masketta Fall. There was no real cheer from the crowd or any kind of introduction as the band walked onto the stage. They immediately started playing and if anything, it seemed that they caught the crowd off guard with their entrance. However, it didn’t take long for the band to grab the audience’s attention for both their musical talent and also their commentary between songs. I found that the topic of conversations between songs was borderline inappropriate, a weak attempt at wit in the same vain as All Time Low, especially since Masketta Fall have not yet established themselves in the music scene enough nor have they earned the respect from pop rock music lovers in order to justify their arrogance and offensive humour. Their on stage attitude left the audience confused and distracted, forgetting the real reason why they were there; to perform their music.
On the other hand, Sydney based pop punk band, Tonight Alive were an absolute hit from the very beginning of their set. Even before they walked on stage, the excitement was unbearable as everyone shuffled as close to the barrier as humanly possible, forcing the security guard up the front to yell for people to stop pushing. Kicking off their set with ‘The Edge’ proved to be a wise choice since it sent the audience absolutely crazy! This could have been due to the fact that this song featured in The Amazing Spiderman 2 soundtrack which helped grow their fan base.
Tonight Alive have worked very hard to earn the respect and appreciation from their audience, which was shown in Jenna’s dedication to perform and impress, even though she told us that she spent the day feeling exceptionally unwell. There were several times during the performance where she looked faint, but that did not stop her belting out the songs and jumping around with the rest of the band. ‘Amelia’ provided Jenna with a chance to take it down a notch as she performed the slow and meaningful ballad by herself whilst playing the guitar. Starting the song off with a verse from another song provided a bit of humour for the audience and showed that the artists are real people who make mistakes. Tonight Alive finished their set on a high note with the song ‘Lonely Girl’ and left the stage with the audience cheering them off with admiration.
The cheering only grew with the anticipation of You Me At Six’s arrival onto the stage, and they did not disappoint! From their entrance to their last song, they were constantly jumping and dancing around. Their strong musical talent was evident through the vast array of songs ranging from older tracks (‘Kiss and Tell’, ‘Take Off Your Colours’) to their most recent songs (‘Room to Breathe’, ‘Cavalier Youth’).
The lead singer, Josh revealed that the main reason why they love to perform is for their fans to be able to have fun and dance around to the music that they love. This encouraged the audience to ramp up their enthusiasm, which in turn also enhanced the band members’ enthusiasm. It became a never ending cycle of who can be more excited and enthusiastic, the band members or the audience? The night ended with some of their heavier songs, compared to the earlier songs that they had played that night, which showed the crowd the diverse range the band is capable of and left the fans wanting more.
Photography and Review: Monica Winczura
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