Ocean Grove, Cane Hill, Deficit, blinder @ The Gov, Adelaide 14/8/2026
Destroy All Lines have done it again nailing this multi-band bill with Ocean Grove, Cane Hill, Deficit and blinder touring on this insanely value for money ticket. It was of no surprise that The Gov was just about full and what a way to bring in the weekend. Ocean Grove are reaping the rewards of all the hard work put in not just with 2024’s Oddworld but the previous couple in Up In The Air Forever (2022) and Flip Phone Fantasy (2020) setting them up perfectly to have a fair dinkum crack at conquering the world. For Ocean Grove to now have the spotlight on their biggest headline tour to date is well deserved.
Opening up and representing home town Adelaide was alt nu-gaze outfit blinder. Having seen them play a few times now over the last twelve months it is pleasing to see how they have evolved and grown in stature. They looked right at home on a bigger stage proving that they to can mix it with the best of ’em. Celebrating the release of new EP low-res during the week this no doubt was the cherry on the cake celebrating what was a big week. There are some big songs in their kit bag such as opener chrome, 480p, disappear, shadows all from their new EP not forgetting their big one hurting closing out a solid set. Look forward to seeing what’s next for this band.
Wow! Deficit literally grabbed this show by the scruff of the neck and gave it a fair ‘ole shake flexing plenty of muscle. Deficit have quickly become one of Australia’s most powerful rising metal acts, demolishing boundaries with their distinctive sound and experiencing their show is testament to that. There’s no standing still arms folded with the crowd being whipped up in to a frenzy. Their setlist might have only spanned eight songs but hot damn their take no prisoners approach really did up the ante. Cue the circle pit, cue the moshing, front man Nathan Newman was perched hanging over the front fence ensuring the crowd was following the sentiment “don’t be fucking cowards, move!” Words were at a minimum keeping the momentum and flow of show going giving no respite to those in the thick of it. Set opener Trailblazer was killer, and all the songs you would expect to hear such as ONLY GOD KNOWS, Death Prize, DEATHSTYLE and Nothing To Lose leaving the main stage smouldering.
Cane Hill! Oh my! It was worth the ticket price alone to see these guys and a major coup having them on the bill for this tour. Hard to believe it has been ten years since this band was last here more than making up for lost time. Known for blending elements of nu‑metal, metalcore, industrial, and alternative metal into a dark, aggressive, and often experimental sound this was the complete performance. Fire up the smoke machine and the hazy lighting creating an aesthetic that complemented their music. Power Of The High captured that excitement and energy of the crowd who all literally emerged from the shadows to get close to the band. Finding Euphoria and Permanence In Sleep were incredible. So in to the performance vocalist Elijah Witt’s hat got knocked off to which he responded “no one has seen the top of my head in five years” adding also that “things are about to get slutty” delving in to Drowning Therapy. Thirty minutes didn’t seem long enough but hopefully the emphatic crowd response means they will return much sooner. Singing In The Swamp and The Midnight Sun were great moments to wrap up a killer set.
Even though we were blessed with three great supports this was Ocean Grove’s moment. They came! They conquered! This was Ocean Grove at their very best. One hour of killer tunes with no filler! They were that good they didn’t need an encore either and you would be hard pressed finding anyone that wasn’t blown away by what was experienced. Stepping up the size of their production this was seriously elite. This is their time! Front man Dale Tanner is up and about, full of beans, cutting loose on opener JUNKIE$. He has some serious stage moves. Bang! The Gov went off like a fire cracker. Powering through Superstar, NO OFFENCE DETECTED and MY DISASTER the crowd were in to. The crowd surfers needed very little encouragement to do their thing make for quite the spectacle.
The affinity between Ocean Grove and Adelaide is tight and they are one of those bands that continually come back each tour building this sense of community and connection with “everyone being part of the OG collective irrespective of whether it’s your first, fifth, tenth or twentieth time”. Promising that if you Ask For The Anthem we’ll keep coming back. Old stuff, new stuff… it was all there making for one hell of a greatest hits compilation. There is still plenty more heavy artillery to be fired with the back end of their set pulling out the big guns with RAINDROP, LAST DANCE and the epic set closer FLY AWAY. There’s no doubt the upward trajectory will continue for Ocean Grove and I’m sure we won’t be seeing them in the intimate surrounds of The Gov next time. Seriously good!
Live Review By Rob Lyon