LIVE: TesseracT – Perth, 11 Sep, 2018

LIVE: TesseracT – Perth, 11 Sep, 2018
With special guests Chaos Divine, Circles
Capitol, Perth, Western Australia
Review & photography by Peter Gardner

Kicking off their Australian tour to a capacity house at the Capitol on Tuesday night, showcasing tracks from across their four studio albums, TesseracT proved they are absolute masters of their craft. Playing an electrifying show, their first in 3 years on Australian soil, they did not disappoint.

First up for the night were local popular Progressive heavy rock outfit Chaos Divine, debuting a number of tracks from their forthcoming new album. During a short 30 minute set singer David Anderton showed off his impressive vocal range to an appreciative early crowd, most of whom were quite happily head banging along by the end of the set. Chaos Divine have won a number of WAM awards over the years and already have an impressive body of work behind them, and if tonights performance is an indicator, the new album will be well worth grabbing when it is released.

Melbournites Circles were next up with a thoroughly enjoyable and impressive set of mostly new material from their recently released album, The Last One. The texture and complexity of the music under the powerhouse of sound and energy was evident with some standout tracks, especially Blueprints for a Great Escape and Renegades, both from the new album. Hopefully they will make it back over west in the near future, it will be well worth grabbing a ticket.

By the time Tesseract took to the smoke filled stage the venue was packed, the anticipation in the crowd building as the lights dimmed slowly over several minutes, the intent of building the atmosphere falling a slightly flat as the crowd became a little impatient.

Tesseract exploded on the stage with the opening track from their new release Sonder, Daniel Tomkins vocals revealing none of the jet lag he complained of later in the set. Buoyed on by the enthusiasm of the crowd, TessaracT played a blinding 90 minute set of magnificent musicianship.

Known for their unconventional time signatures, Drummer Jay Postones and Bassist Amos Williams held the complex rhythms without missing a beat, allowing guitarists Alec Kahney and James Monteith to colour between the lines.

Jumping back to tracks from their debut album, One, Tompkins made the songs his own, his superior vocals giving life to the songs on stage, which they never quite managed on the album, but the centre piece of the set was the suite of songs from the previous album, Polaris. Tomkins vocals were sublime, especially on the brilliant Hexes.

By now the crowd were in fine voice with the obligatory mosh in front of the stage. and Smile and King from Sonder were received with huge cheers, Tomkins explaining how King sums up the concept of the album as everyone has their own story to tell, climbing up onto the barrier to engage the audience as a choir to close out the song, and as he said, get close to those who follow the band.

Closing out the set with Acceptance, Tomkins voice again soars lifting the song to a new plane not achieved on the record. A brilliant performance from a band at the top of their game, I can only hope its not another three years before they grace our shores again.

Set lists
TesseracT
Luminary
Of Mind – Nocturne
Deception – Concealing Fate Part 2
The Impossible – Concealing Fate Part 3
Survival
Dystopia
Hexes
Phoenix
April
Smile
Of Matter – Proxy
Of Matter – Retrospect
King
Acceptance – Concealing Fate Part 1

Circles
Breaker
Winter
Dream Sequence
Another Me
Erased
Blueprints for a Great Escape
Resolution
As it is Above
Tether
Arrival

Chaos Divine
Painted with Grey
Colours of War
Symbiotic
Trapezoids
Route 666

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries