Poison The Well | 170 Russell | Melbourne | 11th June
It had been a while since I’d been to a hardcore gig, and I was very keen to spend my Thursday evening at 170 Russell for one of Poison the Well’s Australian shows. The band were coming off the back of their incredible new album, Peace in Place, but were also performing a significant amount of songs from their fan-favourite debut, The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation, meaning the venue was packed out with both hardcore veterans and a healthy dose of newcomers.
The night started with local support, Ends in Tragedy. I had not heard of them before that night, but I found them to be a personal highlight. Ends in Tragedy did more with their 25 minutes than most bands do in a full hour. I loved how well their guitar and the harshness of their lead singer’s voice worked together to create a violent groove that got the crowd moving, and how their set ended with a song that included Daniel Day-Lewis’ infamous monologue scene from There Will Be Blood. Following them was another local band, Iron Mind. They were a perfect match for the Poison the Well’s sound, with songs that remained consistently hard and unpredictable. Their set was angry, loud and undeniably punchy.
Next up was Haywire. All the way from Boston, and long-time fans of Poison the Well, Haywire put on a formidable show. Each of their songs had bold lyrics that instantly felt anthemic and allowed the crowd to sing along with ease. Their movement, led by lead singer Austin Sparkman, was incredibly infectious, and a few sneaky stage dives towards the end of their set further added to that excitement. For anyone who wants to catch them live, Haywire are doing another show in Melbourne on Tuesday 16th for free. All details can be found on their Instagram @haywire617.
Finally, Poison the Well took the stage. I think the best way to describe their music is as an unrelenting wave of sound. Poison the Well is both the immovable object and the unstoppable force, and watching them perform, I could understand how they have such incredible staying power within the hardcore community. I spent the whole set in awe of the weight in their drums, their bass, their abrasive shouting, whilst I watched fans climb over each other to get closer to the stage. Their set was non-step, but was able balance its oppressiveness with short bursts of atmospheric sound between songs.
Poison the Well played all the fan favourites; starting with Botchla, eventually moving into songs like Slice Paper Wrists and a single from their latest album, Thoroughbreds, before leaning into slightly more reserved songs like Ghostchant and Parks and What You Meant to Me. And then they finished their set with Nerdy, bringing out Haywire’s vocalist Austin Sparkman to perform alongside the band. It was an ending I’m sure fans of the band will remember for a long time to come.
You can catch Poison the Well on their Newcastle and Brisbane shows later this week.