Bayside haven’t graced our shores since the 2015 Soundwaves and whilst i have caught this band at every opportunity i get both at home and abroad, this would be my first time seeing them as the headline act and their very first time headlining in Australia a point they would later make and be very much appreciative of the support they get from us fans down under.

Before i get started on how much i enjoyed the show, can i just take the time to give a shout out to the Cambridge and in particular the Newy Burger Co. The trip up the F3 from Sydney had left me famished and as a vegetarian you aren’t always given great options in terms of pub grub but the Redhead Burger on the menu is well worth the trip, now on with the review of the show.

Far Away Stables are the opening act for this tour and i unfortunately missed them being that Newcastle is a two hour drive from my house. But having seen them before i can tell you they are well worth checking out and getting in early for. Young Lions are also joining Bayside on this tour and this young up and coming band from Brisbane whom i have not had the pleasure of seeing until now have often been praised on their sound and have been compared to 30 Seconds to Mars. By far their best song is You Are II and hearing it live is pretty dam surreal. They have earned a solid reputation for their live performances and it easy to see especially when front man Zach Britt leaves the stage and gets amongst the crowd for a couple of songs to help rev things up.

One of the great things about the Cambridge is you that you can enjoy the music from any where in the venue even if you go to the bar or outside for a smoke, so after doing both those things and checking out the merch desk, getting myself a new kick ass Bayside Tee it was time for the main act.

Bayside open things up with the rocking Sick, Sick, Sick, then it’s one of the new tracks I’ve Been Dead All Day off their latest album Vacancy, if you haven’t got yourself this album then you really should go out right now and do so it’s one of my favourite albums of the year and the band themselves even at one point stopped the show encouraged us all to get our phones out and purchase it right then and there. Mary was the only other track they would play off Vacancy and being up as close as i was, you could see the emotion pour out of front man Anthony Raneri as he sang it.

There wouldn’t be much crowd interaction from the band as they ripped into one track after another, musically they were real tight, these veteran punk rockers really are masters of their craft and own the stage. Fans new and old were treated to tracks from across all their albums some of the setlist highlights from the night were, Blame It On Bad luck, Already Gone, Carry On, They’re Not Horses They’re Unicorns and Landing Feet First. Just before the end of the set they would cover The Killers Mr Brightside which is the best version i have ever heard of the song and then finally finish things off with Devotion and Desire. There would be no encore but the band immediately left the stage and headed on over to the merch desk signing stuff and posing for pictures with the fans, what a real class act these guys are.

Bayside may be to some a band to catch at a festival or as a support act on another tour, but trust me they are well worth the price of admission to see as a headliner in fact i even put my money where my mouth is and bought a ticket to the Sydney show in which they played two songs that Newcastle missed out on. So Brisbane and Gold Coast you are the only two shows they have left on this tour and i encourage anybody that can make those shows to do so and have a great night of punk rock with these SCENE veterans.

Review – Chad

Gallery – Christian Ross

 

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