Sunday  28th March, 2010 – Review by Suzanne Oldfield

In nine days GYROSCOPE performed a whirlwind seven shows around Australia, which included the Margaret River Pro, Triple J’s One Night Stand in Alice Springs and five capital city shows part of the ‘Some of the Places I Know Tour’.  The last stop on the hectic schedule was home sweet home, performing at Capitol before taking a well-deserved break.

THE RESERVES kicked things off in style, impressing the crowd with infectious pop-rock tunes. It’s hard to believe these local lads have been on the Perth scene for years now when they look so young. They must all secretly use Oil of Olay.

After was Melbournians A DEATH IN THE FAMILY. These guys were chosen as the main support on the national tour. Amusingly, the lead singer is a dead ringer for Gyroscope drummer Rob Nassif (there is a saying you are whom you hang with). Unfortunately the band’s set was marred by technical problems. In the third last song feedback was so horrible the bassist was repetitively mouthing “f***!” for all to see and the lead singer had to speak to the sound tech through the mic mid song. The last two songs sounded much better, but the damage was already done, The Reserves was the better of the two.

The venue darkened. A short time later intro music was cued, lights started flashing, semi-blinding the crowd and the four boys from Gyroscope walked onto the stage in single file, with lead singer Daniel Sanders, minus a shirt leading the charge. Bassist Brad Campbell went to the right, guitarist Zoran Trivic went to the left and Nassif went to hide in the shadows at the back of the stage with his kit. They all acknowledged the crowd with either a nod, a wave or a grin and got straight into the new single ‘Live Without You’, which features on the bands upcoming album ‘Cohesion’.

If the band was suffering from exhaustion from touring it didn’t show it. Renowned for energetic live shows the boys were immediately throwing their bodies and instruments around the stage, all the while visibly enjoying themselves.

During ‘Doctor, Doctor’, a menacing Sanders did a Houdini, jumping off the stage and disappearing into the crowd, only to re-emerge on the side bar counter playing his guitar. When the song finished larrikin Campbell casually asked from the stage “Hey Dan what are you doing?” During ‘Australia’, one of the band’s calmer more mellow songs, a fight ironically broke out. The band either didn’t see it or didn’t acknowledge it.

In the middle of ‘Fast Girl’ the band switched to an excellent cover of ‘Beds are Burning’ by Midnight Oil, which received a huge positive response from the crowd.

The set finished with the new song ‘Some of the Places I Know’, ‘Snakeskin’, which sent the last album and band into commercial territory, and the old crowd favourite ‘Safe Forever’. During the last song, Sanders crowd-surfed and actually managed to do a handstand in the air while doing so. He and Campbell then decided to climb equipment and jump off with instruments in hand to end the show in dramatic fashion. They then joined Trivic and Nassif in thanking the crowd, humbly shaking people’s hands.

Gyroscope could now be considered veterans on the Perth music scene, yet they still never stop providing people with amazing live performances. They really do give younger bands something to aspire too. However, the one element of the night which was disappointing was the crowd. A couple of years ago the entire lower level of Capitol was a mosh deathtrap during a Gyroscope show. It was a spectacle you had to see to believe. During this particular show a small mosh only occurred for half of three or four songs and the only person to crowd surf all night was Sanders. It just wasn’t right! The majority of the crowd now looks under 21 and seems less familiar with the band’s older, higher energy and grittier songs.

Maybe the show being switched from a Saturday to a Sunday night had something to do with the crowd’s attitude. Maybe the band just isn’t as appreciated as much as they use to be by this seemingly newer crowd. Either way Gyroscope continue, undeterred to make memorable live performances.