Live Review: Nothing, Horror My Friend, Blush Response

Hailing from Philadelphia, four-piece band (tonight, a three-piece, but more on that later...) Nothing hit Australian shores for the first time and it was worth the wait. They might have one of the worst names to Google but are definitely one of the best sounding post-rock/shoegaze bands going around today. They have a huge cult following around the world and tonight they hit Adelaide!

Local four-piece Blush Response played support tonight. They were the perfect lead-up to Nothing. Their quiet-loud/soft-frantic harks back to the '80s/'90s shoegaze scene, when My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus & Mary Chain ruled the music world. Blush Response have fine-tuned their unique sound — they are going to be a band to watch. Second to perform, Horror My Friend's excessive shoutiness made them seem like an odd choice as a support act.

Time for Nothing to hit the stage. As mentioned earlier, they were in three-piece form tonight. Singer/guitarist Domenic Palermo was not allowed into the country. Seems his indiscretions in 2002 (aggravated assault and attempted murder, landing him in prison for two years) have haunted him. But as a three-piece — Brandon Setta, Kyle Kimball, Nick Bassett — did an amazing job of making sure Nothing's sound filled the room. Setta took over main vocal duties, seeming a little shy and awkward in his new position. He mentioned in between songs that his missing singer is the one that normally chats and jokes to the crowd.

They kicked off the set with a belter! Fever Queen, the first track off their current album Tired Of Tomorrow, crashed in with all guns, guitars and drums blazing! Then straight into this reviewer's favourite song Vertigo Flowers. Their mix of discordant riffs and booming drums turned up to 11 worked well with the serene vocals. A treat for the crowd was the title track off their EP Downward Years To Come from 2012. The set ended with Dig and Get Well, from their debut album Guilty Of Everything, seeing the crowd jump around and shout back the lyrics.

The only complaint was how short the set was, but given the circumstances — apparently Setta had to have a crash course on the lyrics during the plane ride — the remaining band members did an amazing job.