Pix by Kaotic Images
It seems the more I think I am becoming accepting of any music non metal biased, the more ignorant I become.
Case in point, pretty much the entirety of my recent visit to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre to see Good Charlotte and Yellowcard. But first, we must pay due respect to the main support for the national run of shows, Kisschasy (apologies to local opener Parker who were just finishing as my butt eased into my vantage point for the evening).
To be honestly blunt I have never really listened to Kisschasy, perhaps assuming that their emotive friendly band name was a direct representation of their musical output. But I don’t mind admitting when I get things wrong and from the moment the massive drum fuelled introduction smashed my senses and had the lady next to me jumping out of her skin, I began to wonder if this may, in fact, be one of those rare occassions that I may have hastily leapt to conclusions.
Opening with This Bed and following up with the equally hard hitting Face Without A Name, Kisschasy almost had me won over until my pet musical hate with a live band reared it’s ugly head as the band started a procession of “whoa oh’s” that would have left even the most welcoming of fans a touch hot under the collar. But now, as I write this and look at the set list, I discover the song was actually called Do-Do’s & Whoa-Oh’s…
Kisschasy played a highly engaging set of material, concluding with a song that may or may not have been directed my way called Opinions Won’t Keep You Warm at Night. Well maybe not, but neither will a bucket full of whoa oh’s… But at least I now have myself a greater knowledge of Kisschasy and their music – which can be pretty much filed under the umbrella of inoffensive rock – and, just quietly, I think I liked it.
Yellowcard are another band I may not have given enough time to in the past, but they seemed like nice guys when I interviewed them so I figured it was only fair I went along to check out their live show. After all, they had to spend 15 minutes chatting with me so the punishment should fit the crime.
As the lights dimmed into darkness the three seperate massive behind stage screens seemingly merged into one inviting a pulsating glaxy within a black hole that consumed the entertainment center as a spoken word intro passage promised us a journey into the unknown. But before you could settle in for the descent into darkness the members of Yellowcard swept onto the stage to raptuous applause, launching straight into Way Away, followed by Breathing.
To start off with the sound was a little muddied, with the vocals dominating the sonic landscape but this minor problem was rectified by the second song as Yellowcard became the devouring universe of darkness whose only salvation was a healthy dose of punk tinged rock goodness. Although I had listened to some of Yellowcard‘s music courtesy of their latest album Better Days, I was pleasantly surprised by the added layer of musical muscle that toughened up their sound considerably live.
Vocalist Ryan Key had the crowd won over before the first song had even finished, with adoring fans lovingly singing the words back to him without provocation. This sharing of love continued throughout the entire set, with Yellowcard playing several songs from the new album, including Love Letters Lost and Bedroom Posters that were at least three times heavier live than on the album.
Despite only vaguely knowing set closer Ocean Avenue, the enthusiasm and infectious energy pouring from stage was enough to make it two from two as far as venturing outside my musical comfort zone for the evening was concerned. So it is with high hopes we move on to headliner Good Charlotte, who I am hoping will nail the trifecta.
Full disclosure here, I never really got the whole Good Charlotte phenominum that swept the world. What I have heard of their music is pretty cool and kind of rebellious, but other than the passing listen when they came on the radio I couldn’t tell you much about the band that wouldn’t be completely made up on the spot.
Things started promisingly enough as a giant skull filled the centre screen with an ominous air of defiance that magnified with the swirling graphics that almost brought salvation to the lifeless object, but the roar of the crowd as Good Charlotte stepped onto stage was enough to wake even the dead as people lost their shit and started bouncing in unison. I guess this is what musical mass hysteria looks like?
The band jumped straight into The River which was great when it was rocking but soured somewhat when the wishy washy vocals kicked in, but I kept my mouth and opinions firmly to myself because I doubt not one other person in the room was feeling the same way as me.
The roar grew bigger as Good Charlotte served up one of their hits early with Dance Floor Anthem proving to be just that, but despite realising my foot was involuntarily tapping at regular junctures I knew I was in a little over my head musically. Don’t get me wrong. What Good Charlotte do, they do exceptionally well, with frontman Joel Madden saying all the right things in just the right places, but his delivery was also honest, sincere and heartfelt which is all that really matters at the end of the day.
As the set progressed I realised I knew a couple more songs than I initially thought, with Last Night and Keep Your Hands Off My Girl awakening the inner snot nosed bratchild in me, but resist as I might, I also couldn’t help but be swept up in the world that is owned completely by Good Charlotte. I still don’t know what it actually is that the band has, but whatever it is they definately use it to their advantage and that alone warrants respect.
All in all it was a great night of music and don’t let a cynically metal biased person like me put you off going to a show if you are a fan, because everything about the performance was on the money. It’s just me who was out of place…
