live music review: auxilla, the metro, 21 apr 2012

It was quite the weekend for Adelaide music fans, with a international record day sale, Lou Barlow playing Fowlers and many other bands playing in the city; it was the kind of weekend where you would struggle to stereotype Adelaide as a sleepy little town. At the normally quiet little Metropolitan Hotel, punters were treated to what was a rather fun and quirky gig from up and comers Kill Kill Robot Squad and hard hitting, energy-filled Auxilla.

From the beginning, the night had an almost grunge style feel to it, as though you might have been in Seattle in 1992. The venue itself was somewhat seedy and just that little bit rustic which only added to the charm and atmosphere of the evening.

After a few beers, it was time for Kill Kill Robot Squad to take the stage and they did so with a sea of smiles on each member. Opening with a strong musical number that rang influences of Muse and Bloc Party you could easily see that despite their young age, these Adelaide boys have some serious musical talent.

After a couple of songs, the group played a cover of ‘Flux’ by Bloc Party which was done quite well, although the synth sounded like a retro video games console at times. The band encountered some larger problems however: during a cover of ‘Final Countdown’, their laptop decided to power out and filled the room with a series of Windows’ shutting down sounds; however the charismatic front man Tom Gaffney made some quick jokes and left the audience charmed and laughing. This gig seemed a bit ill fated for the Adelaide boys.

Kill Kill Robot Squad are a band with some serious potential and are definitely a band to watch, it would be good to see these boys in a more equipped venue so they could unleash their full potential.

After the set, Tom Gaffney did what any good opening band should do and prepped the audience for Auxilla by simply saying:

“Auxilla are amazing and should be world famous!”

The small band room quickly filled to the brim and it was time for Auxilla to take the stage. With a strike of a power chord and an overzealous smoke machine filling the room, Auxilla began their set. Their music was strong, often fast and very musically sound, and of course very well received by the crowd, with many punters moshing and a few even showing off some great air guitar skills. You could also tell the band was having quite a good time especially when front man Lukas Freer bumped a few crowd members.

Auxilla played a very strong set of material which left the audience with no complaints and they also announced that work on their upcoming EP was almost done, which seemed to get a very strong crowd reaction. Their new (and tall) drummer, Justin, also got a warm reception from the audience.

Now while I could think of many more obscure adjectives to describe Auxilla, I will leave this review with one word to describe the group: awesome!