The Chemist: Saturday October 18th 2008 @ The Rocket Room
Review by Hayley-Jane Ayres. It comes as no surprise that The Chemist are rumoured to be the next big act to come out of Perth, with their live performances delivering an electric, fun vibe every time. They never fail to put life into a dull audience and breathe excitement into any venue.Many regard the Rocket Room as a bit of a dead gig, however, not surprisingly The Chemist have a way of always using the venue to their advantage and tonight was no exception. Whilst still projecting the same textured, explorational sound, the boys provided a musical journey of a more intimate feel as only the smaller club could provide.Opening with “Don’t Look Down” the crowd already seemed a little more fuelled than usual. Because on this night, The Chemist had a different feel. Whilst still keeping to that experimental rock genre, the music seemed more fun and their show felt more interactive. Possibly (and almost certainly) to do with the work of “Sibbsy” who was standing in for Elliot (the band’s regualr drummer). He seemed to give more of a rock vibe, and for once, someone took the attention from singer, Ben Witt. The new feel to the music really did their songs justice and an audience that is normaly seen swaying and bobbing their heads to the music were seen dacing and really getting into it.The whole set had a really good sense of flow and the stage presence never letting up with all four members of the group bringing a different feel to the table. It was good to see the band really rock out. In some ways, the set had more the feeling of a jam session, which really suited the venue and atmosphere, and all up equated to a great show.And of course it wouldn’t be a Chemist show had “Stars” not appeared somwhere in the set list. But there was something about the performance of the tune this particular night that really seemed to remind me of “Mr Blue Sky” by ELO. Not to say it’s a bad thing but it was a show of the diversity this group is really capeable of. And so, the more I see these guys the more I come to believe the rumours are true. Keep an eye on these kids, because they’re going to get huge.