Warming the stage for the hometown leg of Big Scary‘s album launch tour were five piece Buckley Ward, who have recently signed to Shock Records. Buckley Ward make pretty, sweeping indie rock and really seemed to be enjoying their time in the spotlight. Their live presence was only so-so, which was probably due more to the sound and the set up of the venue then the band themselves, but their music was enjoyable and I’d be keen to see more from them at a more suitable establishment.
For those not in the know Ormond Hall is a large ballroom that was originally built as a concert hall for the blind. The sound there was echoing and atrocious – when you’re standing in the front row and can hear the crowd talking over the music being played by the headlining act whose vocals were completely lost in the mix, it’s never the makings of a good night out.
Big Scary pulled in quite the rowdy crowd who were louder then the band on several occasions which did completely ruin the more poignant moments of their set. Tom Iansek and Jo Syme were very relaxed onstage and breezed through their popular singles early on in the night. Opening with “Gladiator” and “Falling Away”, Iansek’s passionate vocal delivery was marred by the bad sound, which sadly didn’t improve much during the course of the evening.
Big Scary played a mixed energetic set regardless, with the first half of the show dedicated to the quieter numbers before they amped it up a notch with tracks “Purple” and “Tuesday Is Rent Day”, getting the crowd up and moving. They closed the night by inciting a massive crowd sing along to “Mix Tape” before leaving us with the militant strains of “Autumn” that garnered them a warm round of applause as they walked offstage, however a lot of the punters seemed confused that the night was over so early without an encore. Having seen Big Scary before their efforts that night were underwhelming in comparison. Here’s hoping they do better next time around and play a venue more suited to the adequate execution of their sound, and live bands in general.
