Of Mice and Men Sidewave Review Melbourne

Review written by Emily Noordzy.

I was more that ecstatic to hear the Of Mice & Men were going to play a Sidewave. Even better, a triple headliner. I’m going to admit it now, I hadn’t ever heard a single song from both The Devil Wears Prada or Atreyu, but I was definitely impressed. Each band got a full hour set so the tiny little Corner Hotel in Richmond was packed from the start. Surrounded by men with piercings, stretched ears (and lips) and covered in tattoos – I was pretty intimidated walking in to this gig. But nothing could shake my excitement for being able to see Of Mice & Men play live.

The Devil Wears Prada opened the night, going hard from the start. Considering I’d never heard a Prada song in my life, I was surprised how easy it was so get into the vibe and soon enough I was head banging along to lyrics that I didn’t understand at all. Despite the fact that I spend most of the set avoiding kicks to the face from moshers, I seriously was having a good start to a triple headliner gig. They set the bar high, that’s for sure.

I will always, always appreciate the skill it takes to be both a drummer and a vocalist so when I realised that Atreyu drummer Brandon Saller was also the lead vocalist, it absolutely blew my mind. I also definitely wasn’t complaining when unclean vocalist, Alex Varkatzas, took his shirt off! The boys absolutely aced this set, including everything from a Bon Jovi cover and unplanned rapping of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song, all the way through to epic guitar solos…I almost forgot that I came to this night to see Of Mice & Men. I think I’ll be off buying some new CDs this week!

When the time FINALLY came for Of Mice & Men to take the stage I’m pretty sure every girl in the room had their eyes on Austin Carlile. Ugh, the sexiness. Good looks aside, the guys all walked out with massive smiles before Austin took his place atop the foldback speakers for everyone to see and jumped in to Public Service Announcement. With a setlist made up of mostly the latest album – Restoring Force – I felt like many would be left unimpressed. Second & Sebring, their first single, was left out until encore and no songs off the second album featured. Having only been into these guys for about 6 months, I began my OM&M journey listening to Restoring Force and new clean vocalist Aaron Pauley, so honestly I loved the show. Shayley Bourget, ex-vocalist, has a voice hard to match so it’s easy to see why Aaron avoided some of the older tracks. Honestly, I can tell  why people were disappointed – the old stuff is just as incredible – but I can’t complain. These boys had a very hard act to follow, two in fact, and I feel they totally nailed it.

Setlists:

The Devil Wears Prada 

Mammoth

Gloom

Assistant to the Regional Manager

Born to Lose

Sailor’s Prayer

Escape

Anatomy

Outnumbered

Dead Throne

Reptar, King of the Ozone

Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?

Danger: Wildman

Atreyu     

Doomsday

Right Side of the Bed

You Eclipsed by Me

Becoming the Bull

A Song for the Optimists

When Two Are One

Blow

Ain’t Love Grand

Ex’s and Oh’s

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme

You Give Love a Bad Name (Bon Jovi Cover)

Bleeding Mascara

Lip Glass and Black

Of Mice & Men

Public Service Announcement

Broken Generation

Let Live

Feels Like Forever

Bones Exposed

Would You Still Be There

O.G. Loko

Identity Disorder

You Make Me Sick

Farewell to Shady Glade

The Flood

Second & Sebring

You’re Not Alone