HEADLINER: FILTER
SUPPORT: BLACK SMOKE TRIGGER
DATE: APRIL 7TH 2024
VENUE: THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
REVIEWER: MERT TYSON
PHOTOGRAPHER: MERT TYSON (MERT TYSON PHOTOGRAPHY)
Last night was a pleasure to see not only one of my favorite bands but to experience a true masterclass of dark, grungy Industrial bliss! Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Filter!
The experience made even more enjoyable by hard rockers Black Smoke Trigger hitching a ride across the ditch to show us how it’s done New Zealand style. A strange mix but Hey Man! They got it completely right.
The lads from Black Smoke Trigger hail from Napier NZ and with what I can only call mix of Aerosmith meets Guns’n’Roses and I was hooked! Hell Yeah! I was completely blown away from the raw energy and pure talent these boys had, it was raw hard rock at its best.
Vocalist Baldrick adorned a white singlet, and that rock star vibe blew the Brissy crowd away with pitch perfect Rock! Charlie smashed out a killer solo every song, shredding in a room filled with NIN, Radiohead and Alternative battle gear, these boys were ready to show this industrial crowd how to rock!
Dan on bass had that Tom Hamilton vibe and was equally as good and talented. Supporting that groove and backline with the dreaded Mr. Te Maro on drums. A killer set with an energy and drive I have not seen in quite a while. Get out there to see these guys and you will be totally entertained. Trust me on this one!
So, the stage set in dim, yes very dim, dark…. Did I mention dim, dark, gloomy? Out of the shadows came the band the crowd were here to see after an exceptionally long wait! 24 years since Filter have stepped foot on Australian soil.
So, all of you are enthusiasts of music! Let’s take that epic journey through the classics and newer hits from the genius of Richard Patrick. Starting off with a killer industrial opener like ‘You Walk Away’, followed by ‘The drowning’ intensity of newer tracks such as ‘For the Beaten’ and ‘Obliteration’. Mixed with well… you kind of know the rest ‘Hey Man, Nice Shot’, ‘American Cliché’. But you know what you know the songs!
It is about the magical experience and ambience that Filter Create. Patrick can really stand up to the big guns proving vocally he can match it and still has that edge and drive that saw them create something different only done in a way that Filter could do.
Love it or hate it, it’s a big middle finger to the haters. Filter really made up for not being here since 2000 by completely holding the crowd in their hands. There is a kind of magical force that Patrick commands, he demands attention and has you wanting more eating out of his hands.
The sound was perfect (I expect nothing less from the Triffid) But the edgy bass of Bobby Miller as synonymous with the filter sound left you mesmerised vibrating through every part of your body. Jonny Radtke did not disappoint with a true masterclass of riffs and solos and melodies that work so well coupled with Patrick’s vocals and harmonies on so many levels. And Tosh Peterson on the drums, man he was insane throwing everything at the kit with fast grooves and fills playing his ass off!
This was a magical experience melding two totally different bands and making it work so well. If you get a chance to see this tour you will not be disappointed. Grab a ticket and be fully mesmerized by two outstanding bands doing what they do best.
Mert.
