It's been far too long between drinks for Adelaide band the Mark of Cain, and tonight after over 10 years of waiting (and people say Tool take a long time between albums) they finally returned to the live scene with a bang.
The night started off with what I presume are a local band called Fluffy. Â The less said about them the better.
The main support act was Melbourne band Blacklevel Embassy. Â These guys are essentially an Australian version of Shellac, and were reasonably entertaining despite some serious sound issues at the beginning off the set. Â A little too derivative for my liking, but they performed with some conviction so was a solid show.
The Mark of Cain hit the stage at around 10:30pm kicking off with a couple of classics from the Ill At Ease album. Â The set list drew equally from the bands last three albums, and the only song played from anything prior to Ill At Ease was Battlesick. Â It would have been nice to see some older stuff, but the set list was excellent and I doubt will disappoint many who go to the shows.
The band played six tracks from the new album, though sadly they didn't play my favorite Grey 11. Â Not all of them came across well, a couple used some trigger samples for backing vocals which I'm not sure really worked. Â 1000 Yards was a definite highlight of the set for me. Â The band played for about 90 minutes, which is a great effort from a "local" band. Â The encore was particularly good, ending with an almost perfect combination of LMA and Pointman.
A few minor gripes; the sound wasn't fantastic, the vocals were lost in the mix a bit. Â The show was quite loud (not excessively so, but not far off either) so I can't help but feel that winding it back slightly might have made a difference. Â Other issue was the lighting. Â Not sure if it's specific to the venue (I don't remember having an issue at prior gigs there) but there were two banks of spotlights aimed directly at the moshpit. Â I think they were there to provide some moody backlighting, but in reality it just blinded everyone on the floor area. Â I never wanted my sunglasses more in my life.
It was also the first time for their new drummer Eli Green. Â Anyone who has any doubt over how good the band will be without John Stanier can put those feelings to rest - Eli hit well and hit hard. Â Stanier is obviously a hard act to follow, and while Eli doesn't top his ability by any means, he certainly is fills those boots without any real deficiencies.
Overall, it was a fantastic show. Â The Mark of Cain are something else live, and to be honest there's no Australia band I've seen that even comes close to their intensity on stage. Â If Karnivool were half the band TMOC are live, I'd have a lot more respect for them. Â If you're in Australia and sitting on the fence about going to these shows - time to jump off it and buy a ticket.
The Mark of Cain 8-March-2013 @ HQ
- petemasterpete
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- petemasterpete
- Lunchinator
- Posts: 1674
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 3:11 pm
- Height: 7" (limp)
- Location: your mom's house