The Factory theatre is easier to find that I had expected it to be. Just around the corner from my old haunt, 'The Vic on the Park', which ten long years ago was one of the best venues in Sydney, I arrived early enough to secure a car park. Dean and Beck had already arrived, Steve and Rob were with myself, and Dougie, Martyn and Nick had arrived by this point as well.
After loading all the gear, including Steve's evil hardware bag up two flights of stairs, we got a good look at the theatre we were to call home for the rest of the day. Quite simply, it's a stunning venue. The stage is a great size, meaning it would accommodate my rig set up discreetly at the side, saving me the inevietable 'band changeover headache' of trying to cram a 25 minute set up into 10 minutes or less- which I can do, but it really doesn't agree with me. The pressure really puts me on edge, only to discover that something is not working properly and I have to go ahead without it. I can assure you, I've lost a few hairs because of this. Sometimes I really miss being a guitarist!
Set-up and soundcheck was really painless, for a start, Stuart, the sound guy was an absolute joy and had a good sound from the get-go. In 15 years of gigging, he really was the best sound guy I've worked with. He was also that rare breed, a sound guy who actually realises and appreciates that the keyboards aren't merely there for show- they need to be heard as well! That rationale was partially explained by the fact that the house music was all Uriah Heep classics from the 1970's. I was stoked!
As show time got closer, I changed into my gig clothes and sat in the backstage chatting to the chaps from Unitopia. Sean, as ever, was giving freely of his knowledge and experience, and those suggestions were filed away for future plans. Again we filed out to watch Toehider and Sleepmakeswaves. After another near-flawless display from the force of nature that is Mike Mills' larynx and the dynamic Sleepmakeswaves, who delivered an enjoyable set that deviated from the post-rock norm by actually having melodies (it has to be said, I'm really no post-rock enthusiast, generally finding it a little like a U2 backing track with loads of reverb- my problem, not the genres...) and thankfully, Sleepmakeswaves neatly circumvented this with their more melodious approach. From the new-school to the old...
I have to say, this show ranked as one of Anubis' best. The pressure lifted through our being completely organised and ready to go just cushioned the performance nicely. Watching some of the footage back, I have to say I'm certain it holds up to the highest scrutiny. The Passing Bell flew where it merely floated before, with the riffs, harmonies and Dean's solo filling the room and seemingly resonated with the big crowd who'd by now gathered. Archway of Tears had an aggressive bark that seemed to exorcise the ghosts of the previous gig, and again, Doug shone in his feature in the middle. The Holy Innocent was precise and suitably 'epic', with Martyn again providing a wonderful augmentation to the regular 6-piece we're all used to. Disinfected and Abused, by now expected as our closing number was as precise and powerful a version we've ever played and the on-stage sound was exceptional. Robert unleashed a monster in this piece and ended up trashing his own percussion - not quite Keith moon, but he's getting there. We managed to combine high energy and musical precision- an elusive combination!
Coming off stage, we were all on a huge high. This is the sort of scale of event that Anubis excels at, and we delivered. Mixing with people, the impression that we'd set ourselves a new benchmark was confirmed.
The rest of the evening was taken up by being stopped by a number of complimentary conversations and remarks from a number of people, most of which I'd never seen before. As soon as Unitopia had finished their well-recieved set, we got out of there as quickly as we could- we'd not eaten and were all hungry as hell; meaning obligatory late-night greasy kebabs and end-of-tour celebrations were in order!
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