I was at the Metro Theatre on an extra special Thursday night, the beginning of this epically long, long weekend. That night was special for two reasons, my first time to see Children Collide and also one of The Red Riders' final gigs.

Sadly they are calling it a night after eight long years, ending on a high note with a couple of farewell gigs in June this year, which I would definitely suggest for those of you keen to see them.

The Red Riders, as always, effortlessly cool.

They played the songs we wanted to hear. From the moment the thumping bass-line of 'Slide In Next To Me' kicked in, we knew they would be missed. Most of the crowd was aware that this was a rarity. Many gathered had actually come to see The Red Riders in action one last time. It was worth it, playing another crowd favourite with echoey distorted chords washing over us and then jumping into the tongue-twisting 'A.S.P.I.R.I.N'.

It was a short set, with the crowd hankering for more, but of course time was running out and we had to move on. They did however end it on a particularly poignant note, finishing off with 'Ordinary'.

Walking onstage to rapturous applause from the keenly excited crowd, Children Collide dived headfirst into their set. They couldn't care less about image or trivial things like that, greasy disheveled hair obscuring John's vision, which barely had any impact on his playing. What was most interesting to see was the enthusiasm shown by the Sydney crowd. Most of the front half of the venue was over-run by eager fans, becoming fairly rowdy, returning the energy that was emanating from stage.

Keeping it simple as a tight three-piece was great to see, each member was efficient, no gimmicks. In your face heavy music played recklessly and well. It's something that can easily go amiss with bands that often try too hard.

Favourites from their set, or the ones that the crowd were definitely into was 'Farewell Rocketship' and 'My Eagle', reminded me of all those great Australian bands from the 90's. Bits and pieces of The Living End, Jebediah, and it's hard not to mention another three-piece that veered away from creating grunge-y sounding music, early Silverchair.

I'm not making these comparisons to detract from the sound that Children Collide have been cultivating in songs like "Social Currency", but because I can't help but notice the sort of raw and rugged sound that just slams into you as hard as that big bald guy did to me in the mosh-pit.

Children Collide restrained themselves in the verses, so that the chorus bowls you over with a barrage of sound, similar to what a little old band called Nirvana used to do oh, so well back in the day.

This aggression was lapped up by the crowd, who took it upon themselves to respond with a fair bit of pushing and shoving that eventuated in a spell of crowd surfing and John (the lead singer) jumping in himself at one point, to the amusement of the security staff.

All in all the atmosphere for both The Red Riders and Children Collide was electric. A quality set from The Red Riders, and a ferociously loud, tight set from Children Collide.

Review Score: 8/10