Birds of Tokyo

It was on a rather chilly Wednesday evening after a long day’s work that I found myself shambling through the doors of Fowlers Live in Adelaide. The reason was that latest Perth sensation Birds of Tokyo were soon to perform. Having been hugely applauded in their home state, they were out to see the rest of Australia, and I speak for a large audience when I say it’s a damn good thing they did.

Now I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of Fowlers Live as a venue. The stage is too small for the band to act up, and the acoustics of the room are pretty shocking; the sound qualities differ hugely depending on where you’re standing in the room - in the centre it’s ok, but around the edges all you can hear (or rather, feel) is bass. However, there is something about just a set-up that provides a great atmosphere for smaller concerts. The black walls, ceiling and floor, the band t-shirts hung up for display in the taproom, the pac-man arcade games (hell yeah!) in the corners, and the fact that you stick to the floor in all areas generates an almost palpable feeling of "Welcome to Adelaide". I love our little city.

The first band up was Day On Fire, whom I confess I haven’t heard of before. They feature two things that seem to be occurring in many of the support acts I witness these days; great technical skills, and a drummer that appeared to be about ten years younger than the other band members. I’m not sure what this says about local music in general; feel free to draw your own conclusions there! Either way, the 4-piece played a decent heavy rock gig, throwing themselves into the set with considerable enthusiasm (which I always like to see!). In retrospect, it’s amazing they didn’t bounce into each other on the tiny stage…

The second support act, In Fiction, was a much gentler and mellower brand of alternative rock. This is not to say that they were soft or anything; their style, reminiscent of the White Stripes and Santana, had a considerable kick to it, and was heavy enough to keep me happily listening. The best part for me was the singer’s unashamed between-songs shout-out, “So who’s got the new Grand Theft Auto? If you’ve got a Playstation, take us on on Playstation Live!” Brilliant.

After a long (and I do mean long) wait for Birds of Tokyo, the headliners themselves finally appeared on stage to a now-packed room. After just a couple of songs from their old album, Day One, the crowd became a sea of bobbing heads and softly-spoken lyrics. Singer Ian Kenny then announced the band was going to play a few of their new songs, and Birds of Tokyo unleashed some truly great material. A precision blend of smooth metal, dynamic beat and melodic vocals, Birds of Tokyo’s new tunes promise a fantastic album, one that I know I’ll be buying! Ian’s strange sort of armless dancing during the instrumental parts provided a focus for the bouncing crowd, with a few imitators even emerging at the front. Wayside provided a huge crowd response, with almost all the crowd singing along, and the final song, new single Silhouette was a dramatic exit point for the band. Keep your eye out for that new album – it definitely ain’t one to miss.

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