Live Review: This Other Eden, Avastera, Lights In Berlin, Short Of Daybreak

Plants littered the stage, creating a dense atmosphere in the darkness of the Rosemount band room on Friday night, as if it had turned into a mini forest for This Other Eden's debut EP and video launch.

Short Of Daybreak came on first, bursting with energy and sheer talent. Their latest song, Make Mistakes, Not Regrets, sounded tight and polished but it was Brodi Owen's exceptional vocals that set them a cut above the rest. Transitioning from lively, upbeat vocal melodies and holding every note into heavy screams of perfection in the breakdowns, this is a band to see.

Judging by the cheers at the end, Lights In Berlin gained themselves a few new fans when they hit the stage. The bassist's stage presence was incredible as he tore around and stood out in the most exuberant way, working nicely with the upbeat catchy hooks and some perfect high vocal notes from the ridiculously talented Devon Bayer.

Before the instruments were picked up, This Other Eden showcased their latest video clip, for the single, Shake This. Featuring some women, a beach, a lot of gore and intestine-eating that strangely enough turn out to be hallucinations, the guys actually eating pineapples and a whole bunch of fruit, it definitely left something to the imagination and was well received by a plethora of cheers. As they jumped on stage to launch their EP, Six Seasons, surrounded by their own mini Garden of Eden, This Other Eden unleashed their swift tunes of solid rock with a bit of punk thrown in and some pockets of catchy harmonies, which the crowd ate up. Whilst they sounded fantastic and owned the stage, they weren't groundbreaking enough to shake up Perth's scene.

There are two things that spring to mind when another band takes a headline spot. Either the band doesn't think they are good enough to headline their own launch, or there's a bunch of dudes demanding higher spots on the bill because they think they deserve it more. Either way, it doesn't look great, so as naturally expected the crowd that was still lingering inside for headliners Avastera was about half the size of that for the first band.

Although musically the band excelled – hitting the right notes, heavy riffs complementing the screams, and Dylan Symonds' vocals exceptional – it was the over-exaggerated stage temperament that let the show down. When you're playing to a crowd of less than 30 people, tone it down. Pulling your shirt off and running around chaotically makes you look more like a douchebag than a rock star.