Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ The Forum, Melbourne (Fri 15 Feb 2013)

I’d had a reasonably hectic night leading up to the gig with one friends birthday drinks and another’s going away drinks, as well as a hypnotherapy session for quitting smoking, AND this show, all on different sides of Melbourne.

I ended up missing the birthday drinks, but made it to the going away drinks. I made it to the hypnotherapy and haven’t had a cigarette since, but by fuck I want one now, so I’ve no idea if that means it worked or not. I got to the show about 40 seconds before the band hit the stage.

It was, as to be expected, pretty intense. It was also bloody dark, so the grainy photo below is all I can deliver.

The visuals were great, but possibly a little repetitive. I listened from a few different parts of the room, and couldn’t find the perfect spot. I couldn’t work out why it just wasn’t doing it for me. The only comparison I have was seeing mono, and Explosions In The Sky in the same room in 2011. Both of those shows were excellent, and felt far more engaging. On talking with friends after the show, we realised what it was- it wasn’t loud enough. Seriously- you could have had a perfectly audible conversation while the show was on. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, and admittedly this was the first gig in a long time that I could drift off to sleep later on without hearing ringing in my ears, but it did lack intensity, and that’s the only real explanation I have.

It was an excellent show though- and I’m very glad I went. And now I must leave you as I’m off to a totally different gig tonight, being Paul Kelly and Neil Finn, which I reckon will be a ripper, but we shall chat about that more tomorrow….