The stars didn't collide for this reviewer, as the rather underwhelming menu left a bitter taste in the mouth.  

Teen Archer opened the show at the Republic Bar. They certainly lived up to their name. Their performance is best described as follows: three seemingly ADHD affected teens operating heavy metal machinery, simultaneously destroyed their equipment and the stunned audience's eardrums with each “song” in their set list. Suffice to say, if you hadn't guessed, they weren't great.  

The only time they seemed to be in tune was when they weren't playing in unison. Some comfort was had in the distraction of their oily hair flapping about their faces, though it was not enough to counter the noise that was being emitted from the stage. Their animated stage presence was okay and the bewildered crowd managed a sympathetic clap with each song but it was clear the crowd simply weren't feeling it. 

Howl packed a more positive punch. The hair was longer and just as oily. Faces adequately pimpled. Their front man did seem to engage a bit better with the audience. The surprise element was vocal harmony. This was very well handled in most of their songs. They thrashed about the stage and seemed to be playing the same song most of the time but there was an odd man out in the band: who'd have thought you'd see a polo shirt and a style cut in a prog-rock band?  

The boys did sadly fall by the wayside for the latter half of their set. Although their request for the audience to move forward was met and this gave way to an energetic mosh pit, their sound got muddled and turned to noise.  

Children Collide graced the stage and cut straight to the chase. They suffered the same fate at the hands of the mixing desk and generally didn't wow this reviewer at all. On the plus side, they did play "Jelly Legs" early on, and "My Eagle" did go over well with the crowd. Generally, the crowd were sufficiently rocked and a few hard core fans were mouthing every word. 

It was a mixed demographic, and for a Sunday night the place was fairly popular. There was another more mainstream act playing in town that night, though this crowd didn't seem the type that would be there rather than here. The crowd just didn't seem to buy the performance, despite the fact they had paid for it. It could be that Children Collide were here so early on in their tour and hadn't really had the chance to warm up their show, but this reviewer felt a little cheated.