Live Review: Alice Glass, Zola Jesus, Lucianblomkamp

Lucianblomkamp (that's his actual full name joined into one) does "everything", alright! He sings with a gorgeous husky timbre, creates all of the electronic sounds and plays violin live as well. His Still No ("...fucks to give") song is one we wanna listen to more closely. It features UK grime artist/MC Trim and we'll definitely Google him as well. Under a simple red wash and clad in all black, including sandals over socks, Blomkamp is probably even darker than Dark Mofo right now. 

Starting her set lying prone on the stage with a piece of red fabric covering her head, Zola Jesus (aka Nika Roza Danilova) rises slowly, eventually removing the red fabric. Danilova sports a black, robe-style onesie and is accompanied by viola, prerecorded beats and guitar. Her vocals are heavy on the reverb. She drops her mic onto the stage, it makes a racket and she jokes, "I meant to do that," later explaining that she's suffering from jet lag. Danilova introduces the devastating Witness as a song she wrote about her uncle, who attempted suicide; she specifically dedicates this one to those of us who have been affected by similar tragic circumstances. A heavy cloud descends upon us as the strings create a funereal atmosphere and Danilova's lyrics hit us like stabs to the heart: "Second chance to pull you from the wreckage of your mind/I'll do anything I can/To rip you from the edge in time." 

Looking up at us through long strands of black hair and with her eyes outlined with red make-up, Danilova recalls Morticia Addams. Danilova tells us she first met her viola player Louise Woodward while creating the exclusive Zola Jesus show for Melbourne Music Week back in 2016, which took place at Melbourne Recital Centre and for which Woodward composed seven string arrangements. Since then, the esteemed Melbourne performer/composer has moved to the States to join Danilova's band. Danilova also introduces her long-time collaborator Alex DeGroot on guitar. 

And she certainly does love dropping to the ground and rolling around on the stage for dramatic effect. At one point Danilova stands up on a stool to peer over the audience's heads. She then ventures out into the crowd and we lose sight of her temporarily before clocking her return to the stage. Danilova then sinks to her knees and emits a series of yelps. 

The Zola Jesus live experience sure is gloomy, but also very moving and perhaps better suited to a theatre setting.

The front section becomes a lot more crowded and the level of Alice Glass (born Margaret Osborn) fandom is next-level. During her opening song Forgiveness, a fan passes a bunch of flowers up to Osborn and, later in the set, the singer is handed a rag doll that has been lovingly crafted in the former Crystal Castles singer's own image, complete with two-tone platinum blonde at the front/jet black at the back bob. Osborn admires the doll and its maker's obvious talent. 

Her bleached-blonde guitarist (who also supplies beats and bashes a single drum), later introduced by Osborn as Jupiter, rolls his eyeballs back in his head, squinting his eyes to look fierce. They make a fascinating pair and wouldn't look out of place hanging out with Harley Quinn. Alice Practice comes in at song two to reassure us that some Crystal Castles material will get an airing this evening and the front section gets rowdy. We can't help but wonder how painful it is for Osborn to perform these songs given the well-documented alleged emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her bandmate during her time in Crystal Castles.

Osborn's cartoonish delivery is wonderfully utilised during Without Love, the sparse beats sounding punchy but never pulling focus from the lyrical content. Punters constantly yell out words of appreciation throughout the set, such as, "You're a fucking inspiration to us all!" Then in comes another Crystal Castles banger, Love And Caring, to show off her trademark screechy delivery. Stillbirth is just about as brutal as they come: "I've been waiting, waiting for you to die." Things get hectic in the front stalls during the beautifully wistful Crystal Castles track, Celestica, as fans belt out the lyrics, "Follow me into nowhere!"

Closing the main set with new single Mine - which boasts soothing melodies despite the song's harrowing theme of self-harm - Osborn collects her bunch of flowers from the stage, mid-song, then, after a royal wave, leaves the stage.

A chant for, "One more song!" brings them back out for the electronic haze of Cease And Desist and we're left with an important lyrical statement, "Honestly, you're never the victim/Honestly, you have to fight." Osborn crouches down and gratefully clasps the hands of many front-row fans. There's a sense that, just like the repeated "I wanna start again" lyrics in Stillborn, Alice Glass has been reborn via this solo outing and her courage and tenacity are truly inspirational.

If you or someone you know is in need of crisis support or suicide prevention assistance, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or talk to one of their available crisis support staff. See their website for further details.