Brisbane's Scul Hazzards drew in the slowly growing crowd with a much noisier brand of music to the headliners. Images of a hypnotic hybrid jam between Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Swans were conjured when one closed their eyes and listened to the Hazzard's frenetic music but, in reality, the band's stage presence is yet to match the intensity of their music. The Stockholm Syndrome are one of the more original and intense hardcore acts in Australia, so it was a pity sound problems marred what could've been another memorable set from the innovative and energetic lads.

All sound issues were well and truly ironed out by the time Pelican announced their arrival with a crystal clear rendition of new album opener 'Bliss in Concrete'. The decision to record shorter songs on their third full-length 'City of Echoes' truly made sense after this gig... the title track and 'Lost in the Headlights' condensed every element that make Pelican so special and prevented any tedium you may expect from an entirely instrumental set. With only an hour to play with, lengthy classics like 'March into the Sea' were understandably omitted but tracks like 'Red Ran Amber' and Sirius' more than made up for such exclusions. Guitarists Laurent Schroeder-Lebec and Trevor de Brauw heaved their guitars in unison with bassist Bryan Herweg, while Bryan's brother Larry sweated his way through a powerful performance that dispelled any rumours about him being an inadequate drummer. Laurent, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite's brother with his dodgy moustache and weedy farmer's arms, transformed into a guitar god as soon as Pelican started building their delicate instrumentals to a point of climax. The stunned crowd stood open-mouthed like pornstars awaiting the money shot as the band continued to bathe them with Tsunami-sized riffs. Little was said apart from politely thanking everyone for choosing to see Pelican over Motorhead (who were also performing that night), but why talk when you've got music like that to do the talking for you? (Gav)