Press
01-08-1999
Caught in the Act - Silverchair
By Ron Bridges (Hit Parader)
One thing was immediately apparent to the 3,000 fans who had gathered
to witness that evening's festivities. This definintly wasn't the same
silverchair that millions of followers around the world had grown to
know and love over the last half-decade. Nope, the guys on stage
playing the distinctive, heavy, emotive brand of rock that has served
as this Australian unit's calling card ever since their debut disc,
Frogstomp, first shot them to fame, may have looked vaguely familiar.
But with their shorter hair, leaner bodies and more mature features,
somewhere along the musical trail silverchair had been transformed from
barely post-pubescent hard rock sensations into a veteran unit with
more than four years of touring experience under their collective belt.
That's what growing up can do for you--it can turn three cherubic-faced
16 year-olds into handsome young men... and it can add a new element of
musical drama to a band's sound in the process.
No doubt about it, with the release of their third album, Neon
Ballroom, Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou are no longer the
baby-faced sensations that initially won over the hard rock world back
in 1995. And no longer are they the somewhat derivative, angst-filled
trio whose music was continually being compared (and not always in a
complimentary manner) to a host of hallowed rock practitioners from the
past...from Nirvana...to Zeppelin...to Sabbath. This time around, it
seems as if silverchair had made a pointed effort to change their look,
change their sound, and change their attitude. But as they stood on
stage cranking out 90-minutes worth of material that drew equally from
all three of their chart-topping discs, it seemed as if some of their
fans were having difficult time accepting the notion that their heroes
had all grown up.
"It is a little strange to come back to a city we may have first played
four years ago," Johns said. "The promoter and some of the local fans
seem to recall us looking and acting a certain way. But we have changed
a bit. We're a little older and wiser. Sometimes it takes a few seconds
for them to realize that."
Once the gathered throng had become somewhat comfortable with the
notion that this was indeed a new and improved silverchair that they
were witnessing, the evening began to take on an almost festive aura.
With the group's new material blending almosy magically with
established favorites like Tomorrow and Israel's Son, the group's
performance displayed both a razor-edged intensity and an expansive
quality that it had previously lacked. In addition, these Ozz rockers
had also begun to understand what putting on a rock and roll "show" was
all about; rather than appearing as the occasionally stiff, often
unsure stage performers they were back in 1995, this time around the
power trio exuded an unmistakable confidence and an inimitable ger.
Before launching into the show's unquestioned centerpeice, the
ten-minute long opus, Emotion Sickness, Johns actually addressed the
crowd (albeit briefly), something he would never have dreamed of doing
in years past. While no one will probably ever categorize this trio as
"theatrical", there's no question that on their latest tour silverchair
have established themselves among hard rocks most entertaining onstage
units.
"I think we now have a much better understanding of what we're supposed
to do on stage," Johns said in the band's postconcert dressing room.
"It's more than just standing there and doing our best to deliver our
songs. Our fans want a little more from us than that. We're not the
kind of band that's going to start relying on explosions and fancy
lighting effects because we want the focus to stay on the music. But
we're there to entertain everyone as best we can, and I think on this
tour, that's exactly what we're doing."