Live @ Fremantle Arts Centre - Friday 12 March 2021

Written by: Sheldon Ang

On November 2019, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr graced the stage of Optus Stadium as part of U2’s two-year world tour to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of The Joshua Tree - the album that propagated the band from “heroes to superstars” according to Rolling Stone after becoming the fastest selling album in British history.

Tonight, Ian Kenny, Drew Goddard, Jon Stockman, Mark Hosking and Steve Judd marched onto the southern stage of the quint Fremantle Arts Centre before a crowd of 1200 or so revelers to celebrate The Decade of Sound Awake, and just like the Irish superband, KARNIVOOL performed the entire setlist in the exact order of the album, kicking off with Simple Boy, followed by Goliath, New Day and so forth. Right, as I see eyes rolling from the staunch U2 fans; but living in Western Australia is just another beautiful day, and with KARNIVOOL, there’s so much love in the times of Covid.

Before KARNIVOOL hit the stage on Friday, The Fremantle Arts Centre was brought to life with an explosive set by post-rock powerhouse from Sydney WE LOST THE SEA. These guys were an act that could have single-handedly made the night their own, with adoring KARNIVOOL fans blown away by their breathtaking performance. They might have been there to support the big guys but their performance cannot be understated… and dare I say, it was a fitting intro for what was to come.

Released in 2009, Sound Awake debuted at No.2 on the ARIA charts. Since then, KARNIVOOL has carried their tracks across major festivals in Australia, Asia, Europe and USA... and tonight the heritage listed venue hosted one of the biggest parties since the start of the ‘you-know-what’ virus, and it’s no wonder both shows on Friday and Saturday nights were sold out - though sadly, the weekend’s performances were the only shows of the Australian tour due to capacity restrictions in the eastern states.    

From the beginning in Simple Boy, Kenny’s emotional vocals told the story of a tormented soul. The veracity of his vocals propagating across the opened air venue was at times ear piercing, projecting the occasional operatic heights such as in New Day to a more mellifluous tone in The Medicine Wears Off. By the fourth song, the crowd gathered for a mosh pit and simulated crash test zombies or whatever the millennials call it, with grown men crowd-surfing who occasionally overflowed into the pit.

Kenny’s stage presence was indeed nothing short of mesmerising. Backed by the rest of the members who weaved the dexterity with military precision, each members stood on their allocated spots during the entire night without the obvious stand outs (or egos), perhaps due to the fact that the making of Sound Awake was a collaborative effort by the band, unlike the previous recordings.  Bass guitarist Jon Stockman was animated throughout, booming the strings and causing a seismic shift across the floor. Drew Goddard was perhaps ‘The Edge’ of this group, drawing screams from fans as he graced the stage, and together with Mark Hosking, they enthralled the crowd with their sexy scintillating riffs and soaring guitars, sighting influences from TOOL and co, but still composing as themselves.

The other captain in the rhythm section Steve Judd on drums was no slouch. His playing appetite was addictive, keeping the band super tight while enthralling the crowd. He was deservedly given the spotlight for a moment with a solo performance, dabbled with the super groove and high velocity snares with a rock drummer’s emphatic drive. Judd’s ferocious attack on the drums was as if he was playing without being too regimented, although no doubt the raw precision of his delivery took years to master.

The Sound Awake set ended at the encore, thereafter throwing several surprises with Roquefort from the prequel Themata 2005 album and Aeons from their latest album Asymmetry, released 8 years ago, along with Fade from their original 2001 EP Persona and teasing the fans’ appetites for new music with a yet unreleased single All It Takes.  There were heavenly moments fused with classic instrumentation flow, soft guitar plucks, and adding to the emotions the hypnotic blue and purple hues resembling the album cover, forming a halo above the massive stage... and for a moment the crowd drew into a PINK FLOYD concert.  

After witnessing the shenanigans tonight, it’s quite surprising that a band of a huge following has not released new material for almost a decade.  From alternative metal in their early works to progressive rock sound in the later years, the band has garnered a huge fan-base. It’s even more impressive on Kenny’s resume when we consider he’s also the lead vocalist of the BIRDS OF TOKYO (which this writer had the chance to review a few weeks ago). Given that KARNIVOOL is still amassing two hundred thousand listeners on Spotify alone, it’s inevitable that the floodgates would just about the burst with another onslaught through a new release.

Finally, this writer hopes that the couple next to him find their way into reading this piece which is published on several platforms. After all, they weren’t too happy being next to him, claiming their spot was stolen and even questioning if he was really the journalist and photographer for the night (although not shooting for Sense Music Media on this occasion). To those surrounding him – especially “Alysha” who was bemused at the couple’s ranting – thank you for stepping in and kindly telling the couple to “put a lid or f#ck off (because true KARNIVOOL fans are not so ignorant)”

... and for that, this article is written for the good guys of the night... Peace, Love and Music.

All photos by Chris Symes - Shotweiler Photography
Instagram: @shotweiler_photography

Check out more photos taken on the night

The SETLIST

Please Note: This playlist does not include Fade from KARNIVOOL’s 2001 EP Persona,
nor does it contain the currently unreleased track All It Takes… yet