Fracking good show in Lismore

Related links

• Fracking a cause of earthquakes?

Fresh from a short UK tour and an extended American one, Aussie rockers Dead Letter Circus kicked off their No Fracking Way tour in style on Friday night at SCU’s UniBar, Lismore.

After supporting acts Wolves and Closure In Moscow warmed the crowd, the five-member alternative rock outfit took to the stage for one hell of an exuberant performance.

On top of their entertaining music, the Brisbane natives must be commended for knowing how to please a crowd: several band members performed shirtless for the ladies, lead singer Kim Benzie turned his microphone on the crowd several times, and the rockers performed three tunes as an encore.

Considering the band has a tendency to explore issues within their lyrics, it is perhaps unsurprising that they are using their current No Fracking Way tour to raise awareness of the dangers of coal seam gas.

“We’re poisoning this planet with our noxious seed,” Kim Benzie told an adoring crowd.

Dead Letter Circus initially formed in 2005. Mid last year, after several EPs and singles, they finally released their debut album, This Is the Warning, which received considerable nationwide airplay.

In May, the album reached American shores, and they subsequently toured with prog-metal outfit Animals As Leaders.

With This Is the Warning having debuted at No.2 on the Australian album charts, the band aims to release their sophomore album next year.

While there is enough proverbial rocking to prevent boredom from setting in, Dead Letter Circus’s songs are not mindless noise.

Rather, the high energy tunes are complex compositions consisting of meticulous guitar riffs with a subtle hint of synth, while Benzie’s engaging vocals are elevated by layered song-writing.