Live Review: Starset, Branch Arterial, Transience

Whoever was in charge of selecting the support acts for American cinematic rock act Starset absolutely nailed it to the wall.

Melbourne five-piece Transience blow the steadily building crowd's minds with their intense, dramatic shock-and-awe take on prog rock. Their sound is quite devastating, the twin-guitar assault coming at you in waves, with frontman Robert Cuzens' flesh-ripping howls climaxing over the top. With that said, there are still subtleties at play here, too. Like any progressive band worth their salt, Transience know how to create an unsettling atmosphere in amongst the bludgeoning grooves as well and it all adds up to a deeply dynamic experience. Set closer Ocean rounds things off in truly epic style.

The sound, style and stage presence of both of this evening's local acts absolutely belong in a bigger place such as this venue as opposed to the smaller pubs we are used to seeing them play. In a similar vein to Transience, although still very much standing alone at the same time, Branch Arterial take the stage next. Age, hardship and a lengthy enforced hiatus (due to said hardship) have not wearied this band one iota. In fact, they have returned re-energised with a bunch of epic, ultra-punchy new tunes that set Max Watt's alight. Even with guest drummer Shane Evans (Engine Three Seven, My Secret Circus) filling in admirably for regular skinsman Adam Zaffarese, whose pregnant partner is apparently due any moment, just for the night.

Branch Arterial sound enormous tonight, again befitting this larger venue, and they also fill the room with their personalities. Especially frontman Nigel Jackson, who is enormous of voice, presence and, above all, heart. Their dazzling 30-minute set whizzes past like an accessible progressive-rock whirlwind.

A long, discordant wash of doomy white noise builds great tension and heralds the entry of headliners Starset, who bring a rock show unlike any other you'll ever see. Spacesuits, cellos and violent, hissing storms of dry ice are just the beginning. There are also space and science-themed rear projection segments, a dazzling light show, a drummer who pulls crazy stick twirling and tossing tricks almost constantly, and the dynamic-if-quirky presence of mad-scientist frontman Dustin Bates.

Of course, all the stunning visual elements in the world are worthless if the music is not also striking and Starset's songs more than match the eye-candy that goes on around them. Their sound is a heady and idiosyncratic mix that's skilfully written to appeal to progressive-rock aficionados, fans of anthemic, mainstream rock music and even people into R&B and pop; Starset strike a sweet balance between all of those seemingly disparate elements.

All that said, the overarching vibe is that of a pumping, over-the-top, powerhouse rock show that gets the crowd howling in unison with the band and thrusting their fists skyward. A highlight is the sweepingly epic Everglow, but one tiny disappointment is the lack of Die For You, which is, in this humble scribe's opinion, their best cut.

No more complaints, however, as this show is one hour and twenty minutes (including three encores) of highly accessible power, passion and spectacle. In fact, the entire evening is a ridiculously enjoyable display of wall-to-wall quality in both music and performance.