Gig review: Gosika + Complexant + Nosedive + Honest Crooks + Xibalba at La La Las, Wollongong

Gig review: Gosika + Complexant + Nosedive + Honest Crooks + Xibalba at La La Las, Wollongong

By ROZ ELLIOTT

Metal? Hardcore? It’s all the same, right? WRONG.
Before I get to the supposed headliner who was hyped up more than the invention of the wheel, I should start at the beginning.
Friday, August 19. Advertised as the gig to end all other gigs, this was – for me – pure disappointment.
Upon arrival I’d been informed opening act Gosika had enlisted the help of a replacement singer. Luckily I did know the fill-in, a well-known singer from another local death metal band. So I wasn’t disappointed. With only three days to learn the songs, it was an epic achievement and one he should feel very proud of. If anyone else in the room knew Gosika weren’t the original lineup, they weren’t  letting on. Full credit to the band: they pulled it together and pulled off a set worthy of calling themselves a contender on the metal scene. Gosika are very deserving of high praise.
Which brings me to the next band, Complexant. They too took to the stage announced they were without a singer. Unlike Gosika, they turned up without a replacement and it left a bad taste in my mouth, one that sadly continued throughout their set. Granted: musically they were there but asking the audience if anyone wanted to sing annoyed the hell out of me. I found their attitude and lack of remorse for playing a show without their singer unprofessional and slightly disrespectful to those of us who paid our entry fee only to witness a set that was boring between songs. It was like watching paint dry. We were subjected to lengthy periods of silence and twiddling our thumbs while watching them change instruments. The band come across amateur as they struggled, unsure whether to make jokes about being without a singer or try to encourage anyone willing to give it ago. They weren’t terrible and I could see they had the potential to be one of the highlights of the night. However, everything they tried to do and didn’t do clouded my judgement. I can’t help but feel they should have offered their spot to another band. Well done for giving it a go but for me first impressions count and I doubt I’ll be rushing to find out what I’d been missing out on.
Nosedive were playing their last-ever show. Looks were nothing to go on by with this band. They turned up with nothing to lose yet played with conviction. I was pleasantly surprised by their set. Part of me wishes they weren’t calling it quits as I would have liked to see them again. I guess it happens, which is a shame. Thankfully they gave it one last go and went out in style.
Honest Crooks were next to hit the stage. The crowd was now looking larger and proved to be very knowledgeable of this band. I, on the other hand, was a true Nosedive rookie and was unaware of what was about to unfold. Being a headbanger, the mosh pit for me was about grabbing your fellow headbanger and joining forces to hold on and thrash your head. Hardcore is more about the term “karate in the pit”. For anyone unfamiliar with this, it’s best described as grown adults kicking, punching and not caring about where they are nor who is there. It’s a dangerous act of violence that seems to be perfectly acceptable at these types of shows. Honest crooks were at home inviting this behaviour and enjoying the mayhem that followed. Their fans sang along rushed the stage and God help anyone who got in their way. I failed to get into their music. It felt more like an angry bunch of men hellbent on constantly screaming through a microphone. Screaming lyrics to repetitive music was house music on steroids.
Not willing to risk a kick in the head I spent most of the headline act’s set watching from a safe distance.
Xibalba. Hailed as God’s of the hardcore scene it was their fans who proved to be harder. I didn’t get it. They were big, scary, loud, fast and yet uninspiring and  somewhat boring. Watching a man in a puffy jacket stomp up and down the stage telling us all to move forward and act like rocks in a washing machine wasn’t my interpretation of music. I guess to truly understand and appreciate the music you had to be a fan . Give me satanic death metal over hardcore any day. I prefer my music to have depth, intelligence, beat and be performed by actual musicians who can play their instruments with the knowledge that they provide sound.
The violence that seems to go hand in hand with the hardcore culture is more like watching a prison riot. This isn’t what music is about.