Project Description

TROPHY EYES

+ The Hard Aches + Grenadiers + Rumours

@ FOWLER’S LIVE 19/08/2017

(Live Review)

Reviewer – Lavender Baj

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Trophy Eyes

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Anyone who says Trophy Eyes aren’t the best (or at least one of the best) bands in Australia is a f***ing liar, and Saturday night’s performance definitely proved that.

Hailing from my hometown, the 5-piece are Newcastle’s latest claim to fame (sorry Silverchair, you’ve been replaced). After trekking across the US earlier this year on Warped Tour, the boys are back in Australia for a series of sold-out shows across the country as part of their Home Is Australia tour.

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Sydney locals, Rumours kicked off the night with tracks from their latest EP, Your Taste For Life, as well as a bunch of their earlier work including Clutch and Rumours. The four-piece were decent, with good vocals (strangely including backup vocals from the drummer) and some catchy songs, however, I found their stage presence slightly underwhelming for a band who clearly had the talent to be a part of such a great tour. Slightly disappointing that a band who were presented with such an amazing opportunity to showcase themselves on a national level didn’t take it as seriously as they should have.

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Rumours

Rumours/Photo Ashleigh Apples

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Grenadiers were up next, showcasing some more punk rock Adelaide talent to get the crowd ready to party. Having never heard of these boys before, I was pleasantly surprised with their sound and their captivating stag presence. It’s easy to see why they were chosen to fill the void left in our hearts after it was announced that Trash Boat weren’t playing an Adelaide show. Definitely check these guys out if you’re a fan of bands like Queens of the Stone Age.

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The Grenadiers

The Grenadiers/Photo Ashleigh Apples

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Next up were Adelaide boys, The Hard Aches, who drew an interesting crowd full of people who aren’t exactly frequent Fowler’s visitors. With a strong local fan base and the talent to back it up, the two-piece Adeladians are making a name for themselves in the Aussie music scene this year touring with the big names like Trophy Eyes and Camp Cope. Maybe it’s the unique two-piece punk rock dynamic of these boys, or maybe it’s the hit tracks they played like Glad That You’re Gone and Gut Full, but there’s something about this band that has me playing their tracks on Triple J Unearthed days after the gig. Definitely a band to watch in the Adelaide scene!

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The Hard Aches

The Hard Aches/Photo Ashleigh Apples

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If you haven’t been lucky enough to see Trophy Eyes live, it’s pretty hard to explain how magnificent the experience is. They’re my favourite live band in Australia, they sold out the whole tour, and arguably produced the best record of 2016 (Chemical Miracle), so you can safely assume that they’re going to put on one hell of a show. And let me tell you, they did.

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Trophy Eyes

Trophy Eyes/Photo Ashleigh Apples

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Kicking off the show with Home Is, Trophy Eyes sent the crowd crazy as they emerged on stage for the first time since February. I’m pretty lost for words when it comes to thee guys but there’s just something totally different about them compared to everything else that’s happening in the Australian scene. Front man, John Floreani is just an insane performer, with some of the best vocals I’ve ever heard, and the rest of the band are equally talented, coming together to produce the pure magic that is Chemical Miracle.

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Trophy Eyes

Chemical Miracle is out now HERE

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Before playing Rain On Me, John gave a speech urging the crowd to leave their problems at the door and how the set was a time to “forget about being poor” and forget how “your boss is an asshole” and just enjoy the night. Obviously, the crowd went wild to Rain On Me’s unclean vocals, heavy punk riffs and the bands hectic stage presence and clearly just immersed themselves in the hysteria that is a Trophy Eyes show. The rest of the set featured all of the tracks that made Chemical Miracle such an iconic album, including Nose Bleed, Breathe You In, Counting Sheep and of course, Suicide Pact, as well as some older tracks for OG Trophy Eyes fans, resulting in an absolutely killer setlist.

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I’m actually struggling to find the words to write this review because watching these guys do their thing on stage, knowing how their music has helped so many people in the audience just leaves me speechless every damn time. Trophy Eyes are literally unfaultable. Lyrics, vocals, instrumentals, stage presence, personality, connection with fans, you name it, these guys kill it. I know it’s harder to get your hands on a Trophy Eyes ticket than it is to get a kidney these days, but I urge everyone reading this to get out and go to their next show (and buy their damn album and listen to it on repeat for the next year) because these guys are f***ing incredible in every aspect.

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Trophy Eyes

Trophy Eyes/Photo Ashleigh Apples

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Concluding the set with the masterpieces that are Daydreamer and Chlorine, the crowd were left begging for more.

For a night that began no better than any other random gig in Adelaide, the bands got better and better as the night progressed, ending with what can only be described as the best of the best, Trophy Eyes. Apologies for the longest review I’ve ever written, but not even 900 words can describe how much you need to check out Trophy Eyes.

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AMNPLIFY – DB
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