Kublai Khan TX, Terror, Guilt Trip @ The Gov, Adelaide 22/8/2024
Adelaide recently has been treated to natures finest electrical storms however nothing recently matches the energy of tonight’s Kublai Khan show.
The crack of thunder of a downbeat signalling a breakdown, the illumination of the night sky of the crowd chanting back lyrics, the constant rainfall of stage divers. Tonight was music’s interpretation of a thunderstorm.
Opening was Manchester’s Guilt Trip and as a Manc myself, watching the crew tear The Gov a new one brought a tear to my eye. Vocalist Jay Valentine gives his best Ian Brown Stone Roses vibe in bucket hat however Brown never implored the crowd to ‘fooking push it back’.
Catching this band is like catching lightning in a bottle. They explode, the place bounces and damn if I don’t want to smash some shit listening to this as they tear through Surrounded By Pain, Broken Wings and the marching beat of Guilt Trip.
Crowd surfers, stage divers and all manner of shenanigans are implored by Valentine as they finish with a crushing hardcore version of Machine Head’s Davidian which has arguably not sounded this enthusiastic in decades. It all brought a lump to the throat of this old ex-pat Manc.
From new upstarts to old school heavyweights, Terror bring all that experience and rattle the place like the God Of Thunder Zeus himself.
The ferocity and energy could power a small country from Scott Vogel and the boys as they turn up the storm even more. Images of chaos at CBGB’s or L’Amour flash into my head as the band punishingly rip through Always The Hard Way and Keepers Of The Faith.
The stage divers at this point are more confident, they pit a swirling tumbler of arms and legs yet somehow the band doesn’t miss a step, expertly crushing the sound while people leap from the stage. Hands wave, circle pits spin and some lucky stage diver makes off with the guitarist’s mic stand. Well done good fellow.
If the show stopped there, it would’ve already been a highlight of the year. However, the rumble of thunder, the pouring rain, the flashes of lightning have finally arrived in Kublai Khan.
Immediately vocalist Matt Honeycutt calls for two step as the filthiest riff of Theory Of Mind infects everyone. While a number of the lyrics can be calls to arms, the fact that the music is either fast and furious or slow and heavy does hold some sort of subconscious sexual connotation. I also imagine that’s the first time anyone has said that about Kublai Khan.
The tight stage works for the band, it’s all killer no filler, as the hardcore Texan heavyweights unload with a dash of Pantera groove in Boomslang as Honeycutt barks along.
This is the bands first Australian headline tour and it’s sold out across the board and it’s easy to see why. Right to the back wall, the heads are banging to Taipan and Self-Destruct while the middle gets swallowed into the pit never to be seen again. The front a cascading froth of stage divers. Chaotic and glorious.
Watching Honeycutt and crew, it’s easy to imagine them in some Texan dive bar, protected by a wire fence, dodging bottles while they unashamedly destroy the sound system with the filthiest downtrodden riffs this side of Sabbath in The Hammer and the air raid siren of Eyes Up.
Stage divers keep coming in a flood, the lightning keeps crashing in riffs and the thunder roars in approval. Mother Nature has nothing on a Kublai Khan show.
Live Review By Iain McCallum