This Sunday was one of the most picturesque that I’ve enjoyed in a long time. I woke up with the sun immediately caressing me, I moved through my day with ease, and even had the luxury of taking three hours to get ready for my gig that night. Tristan pulled up to pick me up and we giggled all the way to pick up Gurk, and then we hooted and hollered our way to The Forum. Everything was quite literally perfect, the buzz from my beers, the short merch line, and the familiar tall, starry roof of the venue bouncing around the chatter of all the bodies in the room. I was exceptionally grateful to be in this room, tucked away at the front left pocket of the stage, sipping my grog through a cartoonishly tiny paper straw when the lights dimmed for the first act.
Galleons took to the stage, and immediately I knew I was in for a treat when the guitarist walked out in skinny jeans and an oversized jumper, and the vocalist looked like a guy I would bump shoulders with at a Magic the Gathering tournament. They opened with “You Who Swallowed A Falling Star,” and I was immediately enamoured. Thomas’s clean vocals absolutely soared, and were pitch perfect with the melodic guitar riffs. I found it kind of insane that this was live, their co-ordination was almost uncanny. My favourite track from their setlist was “Crossing the Rubicon,” heavy guitar passages collide with groovy rhythm, making for a spectacle. The band's shy demeanour made them incredibly endearing off the bat, but it was their lush atmosphere that wrapped it all up into a pretty bow for me.
Fall of Troy are not a band that are interested in making things easy for their listeners, which is exactly why they have such a devout fan base. Their songs twist and turn, demanding your attention just to keep up, and seeing this play out on stage was like watching the creation of earth itself (Disclaimer: I am NOT a dramatic person in the slightest, and I would never exaggerate.). With just three band members on stage, their 40 minute set felt like 4 as they weaved their own sonic pocket dimension on stage. Intricate guitar work cuts through frantic percussion, while vocals move between melodic and aggressive. They hardly stop to breathe, in spite of their own, demanding songs, and the complexity scratches an itch deep inside of me that makes me feel out of breath just standing on the barricade.
With track titles like “Knife Fight at the Mormon Church” and “Laces Out, Dan!,” there’s nothing not to adore about this band. Both openers were fantastic choices, the cohesion in sound is one thing, but also the way that all three bands on the bill are still so distinct from one another is admirable. Whoever settled on this line up deserves a huge raise.
Finally, it was the moment we had all been anxiously awaiting. The room swelled as “Animal Surgery” began to blast out the speakers, and bodies already started to fly over the barricade. Dance Gavin Dance’s sound occupies a very interesting space between precision and complete disorder. Just when a song seems to settle into a familiar rhythm, another idea appears, pulling it somewhere completely different, which just makes me dance even harder. I had Gurk behind me, yelling out every word to every song, which only made the smile on my face wider.
The guitar work is a particular highlight, I’m thinking most specifically about that last 60 seconds of “Midnight at McGuffy’s,” a delicate balancing act between shrill twinkling and staunch, hard chords that shake the room. There is so much individuality crammed into all their songs, I’m in love with Wells' clean vocals and Mingus’s relentlessness on the drums. I’m a person who always has the most to say at any given time, but this is one of the few sets where I have just been completely speechless. I don’t think my words could do this concert justice. The surrealism of the music, the colours it painted in my mind and the overwhelming feeling in my chest as I relisten to the setlist as I type this, is what makes me love live music more than anything.
As if the night couldn’t soar higher, as Gurk, Tristan and I turned the corner to wander back to the car, the band was there unloading. In my tipsy state, I decided I had the balls to go up and introduce us to Andrew Wells, and he was nothing short of a gentleman. I’ve known Gurk for many years now, and we are similar in the fact that we both don’t shut the fuck up, and this was also the first time I saw him speechless. He stood behind me like a shy toddler as Well’s complemented my fur coat, and once we walked away I think he was still in a state of shock because all he could do was light up his Double Happiness cigarette and start ranting about everything he knew about the band, like their own walking, smoking Wikipedia.
What a brilliant night. Don’t worry Gavin, because I certainly danced. 10’s across the board for me.