LIVE REVIEW: BASEMENT @ PRINCE BANDROOM 2/3/25
SUPPORTED BY SECRET WORLD, BEST BELIEVE
It has been many years since the British Post-Hardcore icons Basement have graced Aussie shores. Punters packed into to see them at Prince Bandroom on Sunday night were given a special glimpse into why they are so revered. Fresh off headlining the 2024 edition of Outbreak Fest in the UK, Basement are here to headline Australia’s answer – New Bloom fest.
A run of club sideshows were a late edition to the tour schedule, and Basement proved why any opportunity to catch them in a small room should never be passed up. Support acts, newcomers Best Believe and Sydney’s hardcore heroes and New Bloom Fest compatriots Secret World, did an amazing job warming up the crowd. Secret World singer Ryan Pond paced the stage side the side anchoring every riff with a growl that drew the audience in. Containing members of Speed, Downside and Hellions, it was very clear they are veterans of many a sweaty punk gig.
After those two blistering 25 minute sets it was time for the main event. The crowd literally lifted off the ground as the riff for ‘Whole’, the opening track off their critically acclaimed 2012 album “colourmeinkindness” tore through the speakers. Singer Andrew Fisher was magnetic with his bleach blonde hair, knowing when to sing and when to let the audience start and finish lines holding out his microphone for an audience that knew every lyric to their 16 song set. It is hard to describe how tight a band they were, every riff and drum hit perfectly executed for maximum impact in a room that heaved and stage dived and danced their way through waves of distorted guitar parts and thundering bass. A brand new song drew an enthusiastic response from a crowd desperate for a full length follow up to 2018’s ‘Beside Myself’.
As someone that has had Basement soundtrack many of life’s moments, it was a surreal experience hearing so many of these songs up close and intimate. As the crowd sung back during ‘Pine’ - “I hate myself, but that’s OK” it felt a bit like millennial group therapy.
Late in the set the stage banter-averse Fisher acknowledged the more humble surroundings than perhaps they had become used to – an excitement at relishing their hardcore history. “Start a band, start a zine” he implored the audience as he celebrated the ongoing importance of the Punk DIY scenes that spawn so many of our favourite bands. As the crowd noise reached fever pitch during the chorus of their set closer and millennial anthem “Covet” – one could close their eyes and imagine themselves at a DIY house-show or all ages hardcore pop-up.