With an eclectic mix of Rock, Blues, Industrial and Metal on the table, the stage set and the room full, this gig was promising to be one of the best of the year. But how did it stack up? Dave Roberts investigates.

For those of you reading this in another part of Australia, or perhaps overseas who think ‘sunny beaches’ and ‘Opera House’ whenever you think of Sydney – you’re only half right. In fact, Sydney in the middle of winter is potentially the worst time to be in this city, with the thermometer usually scraping the bottom of the single-digits, and the chill factor not adding anything positive to the equation.

So when Larry Heath emailed me and said ‘hey can you cover this?’, I’ll be the first to admit – the line up only just got me over the line to get out of my warmer-than-outside-not-that-that’s-hard house. The only people who looked any decent were Stone Parade and Floating Me – and the latter only for the heritage of the drummer. But, I figured ‘What the hell, we don’t always get what we want, right?’ and headed off into the Metro, on possibly one of the coldest nights I’ve ever experienced in Sydney.

Arriving at the venue, I ran into a few people I hadn’t seen for a while (including two of the members from Aussie Prog band Cutwing) and after a brief chat, headed upstairs to check out the room and the vibe. Now, my usual ability to come late struck again, thanks in no small part to the train system in this city, which is like the weather – crap, and as a result I only caught the last two songs of the first band – Red Remedy. However, I was kind of upset that I didn’t see their entire set – because from what I saw I was rather impressed. It’s unusual for the first band up on a night of five impresses me – so well done there. However, without seeing their set, I’ll have to say that they were good.

A short break and the next band, one that had pricked my attention, Stone Parade took to the stage. And how. For those of you who have never heard of this band, think The Fooies meets U2, and you’ve pretty much got it. Just with less sunglasses and ‘Starvin’ Children’ talk. Their rockin’ tunes were enough to get the crowd moving, and their stage movement was entertaining enough for me to keep my eyes on stage. A special guest joined them for the last song, which also entailed a Led Zeppelin cover to go with the Beatles cover from earlier in the night. I must say, I’ve never seen a ‘worlds apart band’ gel so well together – shirtless drummer, rock and indie guitarists with a punk style bassist – and it made music fit for the gods.

However, all too soon their set was over and the following band Electric Horse hit the stage. To be honest, not too impressed. Whilst the sound for the previous two bands was clear and distinct, these guys sounded muffled. In fact it was so bad I couldn’t hear the singer. That’s usually a bad thing, and in this case it was no different. You see it makes my job as a reviewer very difficult to give an educated opinion on anything when I can’t hear it. However, in the interest of fairness I will be so and say that it was okay. Nothing out of the box, but nothing too horrible either. So, they were okay.

Now for the following band, I had very high hopes. The band was made up of the bassist from Karnivool and the drummer from Aussie Prog-Gods COG. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. When Floating Me came out and played their industrial-infused altrock music, the floor was filled, the light show was unbelievable and the mix was perfect, if you were at the door, on the rail or standing next to the mixing desk. Interestingly, they took the usual band format and changed it up, with the drums and bass taking a very lead role, being supported by the vocals, synths and guitar – or the exact opposite of what normally happens.

The light show was incredible with strobes and blue lights setting the mood for something that would be unbelievable even by Floyd standards, and something new – feeling of music coming through you due to the bottom end which was not in short supply.

And now for the Coup de Grace, Thousand Needles In Red. Taking to the stage in a more-than-professional manner, they played through their set in a metal feast for the masses. The crowd was responsive and energetic, singing along with the words they knew, and added to the already amazing light show and audio quality for their set. All members performed well, and evidently loved what they were playing, which added to the audience’s reaction, feeding on each other.

Overall, the night was a complete blast, and aside from a couple of down moments, the evening was a ‘great success’. Even the crowd was well-behaved enough for myself to manage to not be pissed off with the bouncing and irritating individuals who usually grind up against you and scream into your ear for lack of reason.

However I think the show stoppers for the night were definitely Stone Parade. Only because they seemed to be the underdogs and managed to blow me away with their blend of rock and pop and alternative influences, stealing the show for the night from Floating Me and Thousand Needles. The Metro played host to some of the best bands in Aussie rock and metal, and I was very glad to be there.

Hell, it even warmed me up.