By Olivia Burns
John Cain Arena was playing host to the second Melbourne show on Parkway Drives’ ‘20 Year Anniversary Tour’. The Australian metalcore band has just finished up on a large European tour and we couldn’t wait to have them back home! The night had a packed line up on the bill, with The Ghost Inside and IPrevail, both from the US, along with Melbourne’s own Void of Vision.
The venue was absolutely packed out for the Byron Bay metalcore band as intro music played over loudspeakers and a spotlight shone across to the back of the arena where large flags were waved in the air and in between those flags the band started to make their way down the steps, onto the floor and through the crowd, handshakes, high-fives and smiles were exchanged between band members and fans. What a magnificent entrance, as they made their way to a small stage set up near the front, they kicked off their show with ‘Carrion’, which they then transitioned into ‘Prey’. As the song concluded, they turned their backs to the audience and a bridge lowered from the roof, as it set down, the band made their way over it, onto the main stage and the white sheet dropped and revealed an industrial-like set and the crowd went off!
Parkway Drive played through a solid two hour set, covering songs spanning their twenty years of being a band. They certainly pulled out all the stops, the production was top notch, raising the bar for any bands or any future tours they are to do. During an intermission, even Winston said admittedly, that it is very rare to see a band of this genre to be able to put on a production this elaborate for crowds this big and certainly a band from Australia, however, they certainly proved why they are one of the best, if not the best metalcore bands out here. There was so much going on that it was hard to take it all in, from the incredible dancers, drummer Ben strapped into his rotating drum set as he continued to play effortlessly as he was upside down, to rain pouring from the roof onto Winston as he sung Horizons, guitarist Jeff got quite a few moments to shine as he delivered some incredible solo performances.
During ‘Dedicated’, a little platform was set in the middle of the crowd, as the band played out an instrumental, a passage was made through the audience and Winston made his way up to the platform, where he performed ‘Idols and Anchors’ to which a ‘Winston whirlpool’ was encouraged by him, causing one of the largest circle pits I’ve seen. He then jumped on the crowd and was crowd surfed back to the stage.
Their song ‘Crushed’ is notably one of the biggest moments in the show as this was performed with Winston spending most of the time suspended on the bridge high up in the air, the stage was lit up by pyro for the whole song and as the chorus hit, flames started pouring out from the sides of the bridge. What an incredible moment but you could not help but wonder how he could cope up there being surrounded by the hot flames.
One thing that sticks out in the performance is the polarising facials that Winston makes during the show, going from his serious face while performing his guttural screaming into the mic, to a smile so wide that there is no denying he is absolutely loving it up there and taking it all in.
The show ended on ‘Wild Eyes’ and the band met in the middle of the stage and gave the crowd a bow which was met with a roaring applause and screams from their fans, which went on for quite some time. After they handed out drumsticks, picks and said their last thank yous, they left off stage and we were left with a montage of pictures from their early days set to Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’.
Parkway Drive’s 20 Year Anniversary Tour is certainly one you will remember witnessing for the rest of your life. What a way to commemorate their journey from their humble beginnings of playing small venues to a tour on this large of a scale. As I’m sure everyone already had their expectations high but I don’t think you could prepare for how incredible the show was to witness in person. I have to say this show would be a top contender for the best live show of 2024.
Photo Gallery : Parkway Drive – John Cain Arena (09.24.2024)
