12/09/98
Alchemist, Naiad, Pod People
Iron Duke Hotel
In Your Face Issue 15 October 1998
Brian J Giffin

The less said about the all ages show this afternoon, the better. With a huge crowd of twenty (tops), it was a lees then poor effort, but in light of the low publicity and the footy finals it was probably to be expected. IN any case with a free rehearsal under their belts, all three bands lifted dramatically for the evening show. Pod People in particular had much more sparkle in their performance as they opened proceedings with “Woolly Mammoth” off the new CD, their immense body-slamming grooves blasting from the stage like silk wrapped hammers. Guitarist Josh threw cock-rock poses and flashed they evil eye gesture at every opportunity like the clown price of stoner rock, the perfect foil for the more sedate guitar/bass combo of Mel and Dave as between them they laid down a consistent cross fire of rolling, punishing groove and the cautious few who ventured to the front fell victim to it, swaying and moving as songs like ‘Modah’ washed over them. Niads music probably isn’t metal in the strictest sense, falling more comfortably into a heavy alternative slot with the likes of Tool. In truth their style isn’t far removed from Tool’s, with less trickier bits and graced instead with a powerful female voice which carries the necessary force without straying into the unconvincing strident screaming of grungier bands who equate shrieking with being heavy. With an undercurrent of darkly brooding bass lines and moody metal guitar Niad created an atmosphere of unease with their tales of darkness which was hard to ignore. It was good to catch up with them again as they injected something different into the course of events. ‘Lunation’ introduced Alchemist’s ascendancy to the stage this evening and were more than prepared to grace us with the power and glory of their full set which lasted for nearly two hours. Sure, Alchemist do have reasonably short tracks like ‘Clot’ which got a run tonight, but it’s their long tuns which best allow them to fully extend their talents and with the likes of ‘Chinese Whispers’, ‘Garden of Eroticism’ and even the immense ‘Figments’ all featuring. Few could argue they weren’t getting plenty of value for their dollar this evening. Every number was like an old friend and their performance was typically excellent – at least for the most part. Only at the key moment of the whole event did the wheels fall off somewhat. Unleashing their version of Jeff Wayne’s ‘Eve of the War’, with Adam on keys and Josh from Pod People guesting on guitar, it quickly became apparent that they still haven’t quite nailed it in the live situation, Their were several missed cues and even some off key melodies raising their heads, but the feeling was there and Adams light hearted “You lairs! We fucked it!” when the crowd cheered anyway was a signal that they enjoyed giving it a run nevertheless. Of course the studio version should be out by now and you should race out and grab it as soon as you finish reading this sentence. After that Alchemist got back on track and dished out some more, reviving ‘Abstraction’ from the Jar of Kingdom set before plunging into the darkness of ‘Soul Return’ for the wind up. Top stuff. Alchemist rule.
Brian J Giffin