POLARIS // From Dusk To Day & Then To Miami!

POLARIS w/ Justice For The Damned, Stepson & She Cries Wolf
Saturday July 28th, 2018
Miami Shark Bar, Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is a weird place. We’re at the Miami Shark Bar (which we assume is referred to as ‘The Sharkie’ by someone, probably), sitting outside with a pint, on some salt-worn wooden furniture, watching what looks like the world’s worst Buck’s party abuse patrons from the adjacent footpath.

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One bloke is dressed up in a sad attempt at a costume (sequin jacket, bad wig, etc.; like a half-arsed Boogie Nights) and he’s giving said patrons, i.e. the blokes in Polaris, some shit as they all sit calmly eating their pub feeds. It’s a tad surreal and bizarre, and by the time security comes out, one dude is screaming “Devon! Devon!” in to the night air, while another bloke keeps repeating “Daddy’s here” for some fucking reason. As they get moved along, one of the Polaris guys savagely quips “This your first time drinking, mate?” Got him; sick burn. Furthermore, moving out to the line and in to the venue upstairs, we pass a truly sad-looking TAB and bar filled with track-pants aficionados and liquor license offending infants. One bloke in the line (taken here to be a local) also remarks: “Miami is the shittiest part of the Gold Coast. It’s even worse than Labrador.” When we finally get inside, the venue has that sticky carpet feel reminiscent of partially-set bitumen and everything smells like yeast and unchanged kegs. One of our mates leans over and declares, “You know you’re at a dive bar, when they have Mother on tap.”

Venue digs notwithstanding, kicking things off this evening are local outfit She Cries Wolf. Fresh from sharing the stage with tonight’s headliners at the recent Dead of Winter Festival in Brisbane, the hardcore quartet do their best to get the weekend party started. Ripping into latest single Cultist, with its morbidly catchy “You’re dead!/You’re dead!/You’re dead!” refrain and crushing breakdown section, vocalist Luke Harriss stalks around the stage with a raging intensity, commanding the early punters in attendance to pick it up with some much-needed energy and movement. Now admittedly, tonight’s crowd seems lukewarm (puns are fun) to this suggestion, but by the time tracks like the riff-heavy Midnight and fan favourite Baal roll around, the room is noticeably full and there’s a dedicated throng up front grabbing the mic and singing along. Closing out with the anthemic Chapter II, She Cries Wolf perform a tight and well-oiled set, raising the bar for the rest of the evening. Also, psssssst: where’s that new album boys?

She Cries Wolf // By Desiree Robinson

She Cries Wolf // By Desiree Robinson

She Cries Wolf // Photo: Desiree Robinson

Next up are Brissy melodic hardcore stalwarts Stepson. There’s an immediate sense of urgency from the outset, as frontman Brock Conry smiles gleefully, fixing his dad hat and screaming passionately into the faces of the front row. The group work through a collection of tracks across various releases, including right back to 2015’s Echoes In An Empty Room EP, with bassist/vocalist Jayden Ridley contrasting Conry’s mid-range yell with alternating cleans and growls. There’s a bit of banter between songs, as Conry takes time to congratulate Harriss and guitarist Daniel Belic from She Cries Wolf, who both recently got engaged, and it’s all a bit cute really. Conry also shouts out tonight’s headliners for opening the heavy music platform in general, and putting together this very well-stacked bill, which is a sentiment that gets a bunch of cheers and applause from the crowd. Spending much of the set pressed right up against the stage barrier, Conry is in the thick of it during tracks like the sorrowful Never Mind Me and new banger Come With Me, which might just be the band’s heaviest track yet and (hopefully) a sign of things to come.

Stepson // By Desiree Robinson

Stepson // By Desiree Robinson

It’s a testament to the pleasure of mixed bills, that we can go from the chaotic hardcore of She Cries Wolf, to the melodic hardcore/punk of Stepson, and then the sheer destructive power of Sydney metallers Justice For The Damned. If people didn’t come here to mosh and circle pit, then too fucking bad for them, because that’s all frontman Bobak Rafiee has on his mind tonight. While the band unfurl heavy track after heavy track from last year’s excellent debut album Dragged Through The Dirt, Raifee’s gaze pierces into the crowd as he raises his hand in the air, demanding a circle pit from the front to the back of the room numerous times. To their credit, the punters give it a red-hot crack, and during the blistering No Flowers On Your Grave and the colossal Bearing The Crown Of Lies, it’s nothing but a sea of flailing limbs, missing shoes and sweaty locks. Older cuts like Deep Rotting Fear get a look in, with guitarist Nick Adams throwing down windmills that would make even the most steadfast chiropractor wince. Closing out with the frosty, blast-beat driven Please Don’t Leave Me, the Sydney boys leave the Shark Bar stage thoroughly stomped into submission and ready for the main event.

Justice For The Damned // By Desiree Robinson

Justice For The Damned // By By Desiree Robinson

Speaking of which, this is our fourth time seeing the Sydney metalcore institution that is Polaris in 2018 (and third time reviewing them for none other than this illustrious publication). If it feels like Polaris have been everywhere lately, well, that’s because they have, and it definitely shows tonight. Even in a modestly-sized room like the Shark Bar, Polaris sound like they’re playing to a god-damn arena, and the fans are responding in kind. It’s a sheer metalcore spectacle this evening, evidenced by the massive reception to rager Lucid, a standout track from their breakout record The Mortal Coil. Guitarists Rick Schneider and Ryan Siew wield their Architects-inspired riffage like deadly weaponry, and vocalist Jamie Hails is equally lethal, shrieking, growling and screaming with ferocity. Drummer Daniel Furnari pounds away during The Slow Decay and Frailty, while bassist/vocalist Jake Steinhauser flexes his vocal chops with clean vocal lines on tour namesake, Dusk To Day, with its lofty and soaring chorus. The band break up their set with plaintive instrumental In Somnus Veritas, which is a nice touch, followed up by the cavalcade rhythms of Casualty. When the familiar lead riff of closer The Remedy comes in, the Goldy crowd quickly goes in to overdrive with ample pogo and push-mosh shenanigans. With tonight’s gig being the last stop on the tour, Polaris gave it their all and left nothing in the tank. And as Hails tells the crowd before they wrap up, it’s always good to go out on a high note.