The last time we saw Stand Atlantic, they were supporting Waterparks at the Barrowlands. I remember being impressed and excited for a headlining tour – which I’m getting tonight. The question is “can we squeeze the energy we saw at the Barras onto a St Luke’s stage?”.
The first good omen is the same rainbow of hair colours waiting outside the old church in the East End. The same crowd returning should absolutely mean there’s going to be a lot of movement tonight.
The first of two supports is fellow Aussies Slowly Slowly. The first song immediately screamed “Incubus” at me. It was like a smoother version of the alt rap (but not quite rap) rock band from the past. That had passed by song two where they turn into a pop rock band. A very good pop rock band, but just North of the likes of Train or other huge radio friendly bands like that. There’s a bit of aggression in the vocals but it’s hugely inoffensive indie pop. There’s even one song with counter harmonies and clapping instead of guitars.
Most of the movement comes from their guitarist but we can’t blame them when they’re on a stage this size with the headliner’s gear behind them. They’re so polished and well rehearsed that I’m sure they’re going to go somewhere – and they are back for a headline tour next March apparently – so worth a spin if you’re into the whole indie rock pop thing. Maybe you went to see the Jonas Brothers last week… these guys are your bag. Even though their music isn’t going to start any riots, they do sound great – even when the singer is the one to initiate the “here we, here we, here we fucking go…” chants rather than allowing the audience to use it as a chant of approval.
Honey’s Revenge we know from when they supported The Used back at SWG3. I kinda remember them – but my brain is where moments go to die nowadays. As soon as they start, I’m reminded of the unstoppable head bopping I experienced first time around. It’s punky, poppy, anthemic noise played by four people who are pouring over with character.
There’s enough heavy parts to keep the pop label at bay in its place as a footnote when describing this band. It’s more new wave pop punk than anything else. With that comes the inevitable backing tracks with harmonizing vocals that seem to come from nowhere… but these are the times we live in. There’s no doubt the important parts are live and angry. If, like me, you got bored of Paramore yonks ago, these guys will probably fill the hole left by the latter albums when it was all bouncy and fun. At one point, singer Devin ends up in the crowd and the energy doesn’t stop on stage.
There’s also a call for crowd surfers during one song that results in a handful of the same people obliging – sometimes three at a time – which is a little forced but takes off. Likewise, the instruction to start a circle pit is interpreted as “run around in a circle” which isn’t the kind of circle pit I’m used to, but I grew up in a different time. This is a really fun band to watch and worth a watch for a bit of bubblegum punk dancing.
Stand Atlantic’s Bonnie walks onto the stage alone to sing the intro of “Wake up-sit down-shut up” and as soon as the song properly kicks off, it’s clear this isn’t the band I saw last time. Instead of pop punk we get heavy, dare I say it… nu metal? The sound is huge…plenty of backing tracks and layers up on layers of samples and harmonies. How do I feel about a laptop being the fifth member of the band? Well, it’s not a new thing and there’s plenty of synth in modern rock. If you were to try to recreate this sound on stage with individual keyboard players, additional guitarists and singers… you’d end up with Polyphonic Spree on stage. So I can forgive it in return for something so loud that goes this hard.
It’s clear the crowd are into the change of direction that Stand Atlantic have taken. The more aggressive and furious songs provoking screaming back from fans who are properly moshing and crowd surfing without prompting. We still get the pop punk classics from previous albums, but tonight is very much about the present and future sound.
We need an honourable mention to the lighting director that they’ve brought with them. A host of blinding lights swivel around the stage, firing in all directions through a consistent haze as jets of CO2 blast up from the front. It’s a stadium spectacle in a tiny church. The show is made all the more exciting with the movement on stage. Guitarist David Potter jumping from the front risers and guitar flips for miles. Anyone who claims rock and roll isn’t a sport hasn’t seen this man in action. Stand Atlantic have really squeezed the energy of a big scale show into this small venue.
All in, I may have preferred the poppier version of this band, but there’s a lot to be said for the darker, evil twin that we got tonight. I admit that I’m not the target audience for Stand Atlantic and as such I recognise the journey that they’re on right now. Just as The Wonder Years started off pop punk and have matured into an angrier version of themselves, so are Stand Atlantic. It’s a good sign that a band is moving forward and allowing their music to change with their life experiences (who hurt you, Bonnie?!) and I get the feeling that every tour from here on in is going to showcase another step of that journey. I’m very excited for the core audience being able to join them on that journey from tonight onwards.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
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