Project Description

THE GETAWAY PLAN + DREAM ON DREAMER

+ OCEAN SLEEPER

@ LION ARTS FACTORY

08/03/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Leah Lovegrove

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On an eventful Friday night amidst the Fringe season in the bustling streets of Adelaide, Dream On Dreamer and The Getaway Plan joined forces to bring their massive co-headline tour to the freshly redesigned Lion Arts Factory (previously Fowler’s Live), bringing support from Ocean Sleeper. Spanning over a month and a half, Adelaide’s show marked the halfway mark for the twelve date tour across Australia.

Dream On Dreamer performed at UNIFY Gathering earlier this year and within a week of their appearance, dropped their new single and music video Love. After a quiet 2018, which had no touring and very few select shows, The Getaway Plan played among fellow Australian acts during the Under The Southern Stars Festival before venturing out on the co-headliner. Wrapping up their first ever headline Australian tour late last year and also supporting the likes of metal heavyweights Killswitch Engage, Ocean Sleeper also joined the massive UNIFY lineup previous to supporting this nationwide run.

The warm night had fans lining up before doors. As they opened the crowd spilled in to go check out merch, buy beverages and check out the revamped stylish venue. Being my first time in the newly remodelled venue, I really enjoyed the trendy and modern look; it brought a different vibe to the atmosphere. Gigs here now feel like they are on a larger professional scale due to added spaciousness and new equipment such as lighting and a digitalised stage backdrop, as well as an altered stage layout.

Emo bangers and classics provided by Taking Back Saturday DJs added to the night as proved to be popular; the audience sung along to the music being blasted on the PA before the acts and in between sets. Each time a different song played, “OHs!” and small shouts of excitement echoed throughout the venue.

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The main room filled up fast, with people from the front room pouring in once the lights dimmed. Ocean Sleeper stepped onto the stage ready to start the night on a heavy and wild note. The audience was full of anticipation for the Victorian rockers from the get-go as moshing instantly broke out. The incredibly hard hitting tunes paired with their superb ability to work the stage hyped the crowd into some pretty intense moshing antics. Circle pits, swinging of arms, pushing and shoving filled the entirety of their set with the band encouraging the crowd with amazing crowd engagement.

Being my first time listening to Ocean Sleeper, I was impressed with what they brought to their performance. Each member of the four-piece thrived on stage which was well received by the eager audience. I highly enjoyed their music jam-packed with massive riffs, anthem filled choruses and mighty heavy breakdowns, playing hits from their EP Worthless, No Purpose and their 2018 single Save Me.

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Next on the bill was co-headliners Dream On Dreamer. Hardcore fans crowded at the barrier and punters in the middle of the pit continued their moshing antics as Let It In started off their set. Dream On Dreamer’s latest album was projected on the stage backdrop, a massive white jellyfish shining brightly into the eyes of the crowd.

It was evident vocalists Marcel Gadacz and Zachary Britt were struggling with sickness as their vocals weren’t flawless, but they still carried on and performed to the best of their abilities despite the hindrance of their illnesses. The crowd also supported the band and sung each lyric back loud and clear.

Don’t Lose Your Heart hit it off well with the crowd as they screamed the chorus from their lungs.

The mosh pit opened up in the next two songs and the crowd surged forward in the centre of the room. Men and women alike got involved in the frantic pushing and shoving with wide grins on their faces. Sweat dripped off the many faces of the pit due to physical exertion and the heat of crowd.

Toning it back down, Dream On Dreamer played their new release Love followed with Runaway. The chorus of Runaway found Zach struggling to hit the high notes but he quickly and gracefully improvised, singing lower notes. Personally these two songs were a highlight of their set.

Society To Anxiety brought back the heavy tunes. The band weren’t afraid to make the most of the stage and move around freely. Marcel jumping up and down and encouraging the crowd during Zach’s vocal lines hyped everyone in the room.

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Zach’s short solo during Hear Me Out was accompanied with the lights held up by the audience as the band left during the introduction of the song, later to join him as the song’s heavier section kicked in. The singing of the crowd was the loudest of the night during this song and it was an uplifting moment.

Downfall was brutal; the heaviest song played by Dream On Dreamer for the night. The tempo changes and heavy riffage had all members of the audience head banging. The circle pit made its second appearance of the night as Marcel encouraged the crowd to jump and go nuts. The crowd interaction was phenomenal. Marcel even handed the microphone to a member of the audience to finish the last few lines of the song and he surprisingly sung it well for all of us to hear.

Finishing off with Stay and Ambitions, with a guest appearance from vocalist Karl from Ocean Sleeper, Dream On Dreamer finished on a high note.

Despite the illnesses throughout the band, they pulled off an incredible set. This was my first time seeing the Brisbane metal heavyweights and I was thoroughly impressed and I’ll definitely be seeing them again in the future.

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Last but not least, The Getaway Plan was last to take to the stage. A fade-in to their first song, they played Heartstone as people filled the room once again from the brief interlude. The band got heads nodding along to the beat and fans at the barrier singing aloud. The Getaway Plan’s music was a change from the past two acts; their music residing more in alternative rock than the heavy metal core in the previous bands, although some of their early EP year’s material is very similar. This didn’t stop the band from captivating the now sweaty crowd and getting everyone involved. I was certainly watching with a massive smile on my face, eyes wild with excitement while The Getaway Plan dazzled the stage as they are one of my all-time favourite bands, and in my opinion, clearly an underrated band with immense talent. Guitarist Clint Owen Ellis shredded an impressive solo to end the massive opening song.

Streetlight proved to be a huge song as the band rocked out while frontman Matthew Wright grabbed the microphone off the mic stand and jumped around the stage, often putting his foot up on the monitors across the front of the stage. The bad’s collective headbanging resulted in a flurry of luscious hair as each member had hair spanning down to their shoulders.

Bringing it back a notch with New Medicine (Stay With Me). This song never fails in giving me goosebumps. The studio recording is beautiful and being played live adds to the beauty of the song. Matthew was having a bit of feedback issues with his microphone and guitar which clearly frustrated him, but his flawless vocal work kept me from lingering on the issue.

Tune after tune, Flying Colours went off and this stunning performance of the song had it stuck in my head for days on end well past the gig.

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Grooving out to sexy and moody track Dark Horses, the band seemed to lose themselves in the music. This song makes it hard not to. Once again, Clint showed off his skills with the multiple solos the song possesses. I’ve always enjoyed this track as the riff is similar to Radiohead’s ‘Electioneering’ but a much chilled out take on the catchy riff. It also has such a fantastic crescendo, climax and resolution to the song. Top track, top performance.

The list of bangers was never ending as Shadows, Red Flag and Sleep Spindles from The Getaway Plan’s debut album Other Voices, Other Rooms excited the crowd, the songs off that recorded undoubtedly popular amongst the audience. Sleep Spindles and Red Flag were fitting tracks for the night featuring verses that displayed Matthew’s screaming abilities.

Nearing the end of the night, Matthew thanked the audience and expressed his gratitude on behalf of the band, grateful The Getaway Plan is still around due to the faithfulness of their fans. He also expressed his thankfulness that they can still play shows after being around for fifteen years, a smile wide across his face while speaking to the crowd.

The last song of the set Where The City Meets The Sea was deafening with the sea of voices from the fans. The massive 2008 hit song had the whole crowd jumping and screaming at the top of their lungs. Where The City Meets The Sea still ‘slaps’ eleven years from the release date and the crowd was certainly slapped by a good sense of nostalgia.

Walking offstage to a bunch of cheering and then back onstage to the continuous cheering, the band ended the night with the title track of their second album Requiem. The up-tempo song was a brilliant way to end the night and once again I was impressed with the band’s performance and musicianship, showcasing the band’s talent. Bassist Mike Maio and drummer Dan Maio had the rhythm section flawlessly tight as the song went to a face paced double time for the remainder of the song. The song had everything; from a slow introduction, kicking into double time, ridiculously amazing vocal work (falsetto, belting and screaming) by Matthew and a killer guitar solo. What a perfect way to end the night.

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DREAM ON DREAMER SETLIST:

Don’t Lose Your Heart
Shine
Love
Darkness Brought Me Here
Runaway
Drag Me Down
Voices
Society To Anxiety
Hear Me Out
Downfall
Stay

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THE GETAWAY PLAN SETLIST:

Heartstone
Streetlight
New Medicine (Stay With Me)
Flying Colours
Dark Horses
Shadows
Sleep Spindles
Red Flag
Where The City Meets the Sea
ENCORE
Requiem

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Check out Isabelle Haubrich’s, Kyle Davis’ and Zac Montgomery’s galleries.

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