Bane, Break Even & Snake Cross
Enigma Bar
Friday 13th April 2007



After ten years, three albums and an incredible amount of touring Massachusetts based hardcore outfit "Bane" finally made it to Australia for their very first tour down under, and the fans who attended were not left disappointed.

Opening the night's entertainment was the very young local punk rock / melodic hardcore group Snake Cross. I had never heard of these guys before; it was only their third show. Nevertheless the boys displayed a lively and fast set which at first seemed a little shaky, probably due to the magnitude of the show itself and also their lack of live scene knowledge. However, there were highlights to their performance, with multiple mosh-parts mostly derived from the front man's eagerness, as well as the equivalent of what can only be described as a "pile-on" resulting in the loss of the front man's glasses too, all-in-all good times. To sum up however, just imagine a bunch of kids on stage having a ball with no fear and a lot of anger and aggression.

From their live show alone Perth based quintet Break Even have become my favourite Australian melodic hardcore band. Their performance commanded respect; frequent sing-alongs, punishing beatdowns and enough energy to power Adelaide from their stage presence alone proved why this Western Australian group are such a valued band involved with the "hardcore" community. Like their friends in Miles Away (also from Perth) but perhaps not as melodic, they featured songs off their debut EP 'Young At Heart' and their earlier demo to a very receptive audience. Ultimately it seemed that everyone was just having fun, which is also Break Even's motto.

To finish the night off, the pioneers of old school hardcore jumped on stage and showed why they are still around after ten years - because it's exciting and fun. Displaying a powerful show featuring songs from practically their entire history as a band, the five-piece jumped, sang, waved their arms in the air (similar to an excited baboon), brought people on stage to share the microphone and capped off the night in fine form.

Speaking words of pure appreciation and high regard between songs mostly towards Break Even, their Australian fans, the band Mastodon who also attended the show and their friends back home, as well as a terrifying story of a tragic event which occurred in NSW, it was truly flattering to be a member of the crowd and just goes to show how mature these guys are. I just hope it's not ten more years until Bane return because I don't think I can wait that long, and I'm sure that I'm not alone with that sentiment either.



Will Oakeshott