Voiid, Blind Girls, Twine @ Crown & Anchor, Adelaide 17/6/2023
Celebrating their debut album, Watering Dead Flowers, post-punk alt-rock band VOIID, enchanted us with their confessional take on relationships and navigating emotions in today’s climate. This feminist punk band ignited the crowd with their spirit, wit and musical talent. Live at the Crown and Anchor, bands Blind Girls and Twine took the stage to start the night and warm up an already excited audience.
Adelaide’s own, Twine, began the night with Thea Martin’s gentle violin contrasting with the eerie guitar feedback. This post-punk rock band performed their songs, featuring My God, a well-known track from the band, highlighting Thomas Katsaras’ intense vocals.
Next up were Blind Girls. Formed in 2013, the Queensland underground screamo band are memorable and epic. Sharni Brouwer’s amazing and gutteral vocals make you feel every emotion as her and the band take you on a brilliant and hectic journey. Watching the mosh pit thrash and come alive added to the intensity of the set.
Electricity filled the air as VOIID walked onto the stage and began their set with And So Two and Lexapro, the first two tracks from their debut album. And So Two exudes 90’s vibes, feeling like you’re in a grunge club in a 90’s film. Lead vocalist Anji Greenwood’s natural deep voice and droning vocals add to the satirical lyrics in Lexapro as she repeats “You’re too pretty to be sad…”, singing along with Mina Cannons catchy drumming.
As the four band members engaged in general chats with the audience, interacting with us, the poster reading “FROM WHAT I CAN SEE IT JUST GOES ON” painted in black loomed nihilistically over the band. With the powerfully brutal and repetitive guitar riffs in Invalidate Me and the bands unique style and iconic attitude, the night’s energy continued exploding through the venue. A lull in the fast-paced atmosphere overtook the space when Kate McGuire and Anji melancholically sang during the acoustic track Little Sibling. The emotional song is a reflection of some of the family dynamics the band touch on in their music. After this, Kate exclaimed, “Now this is the fun part of the set.”
Then it was straight back into the captivating and high-energy set the band began with. Reinventing the role of a female and how femininity should be understood, VOIID absolutely captivated us with Feminine When? and L’amour Fou A hypnotic wave of chaos hit the audience in these feminist hardcore punk songs before Anji stopped performing at one point and told the crowd to look after each other. Swallower and Her Hair Floats were personally unforgettable performances after the empowering anger in Feminine When? Anji mentioned Swallower is about “shitty people who do shitty things”, a sentiment that was definitely evident in this song, through the strong guitar and drum patterns.
In between songs, when bassist Antonia Hickey along with the band, were setting up for the next part of the set, Anji blessed us with the creepiest and hauntingly beautiful vocals of the one minute interlude, Daisy. She stood still and solitary, once again hypnotising the audience.
The Bedroom, VOIID’s final song of the night, was enchanting and eerie, as Anji sang the intimate and slow song. As a fitting and final goodbye, the crowd seemed satisfied and wanting more of this amazing group of four young musicians. VOIID are worth going out to see, creating the sacred underground post-punk vibe from the 90’s and reinventing it successfully for contemporary crowds. They are keeping authentic punk alive, with important worldly messages intertwined in their energetic songs.
Live Review By Zara Zampaglione