gig review: last words 9/5/26
- madimanyweathers27
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Last Saturday, I went to last words for the first time since moving to its new home at bootleggers in newtown ,and while it may have changed venues, its stayed exactly the same as far as providing a fun safe space, and curating some of the coolest local shows ive been to in a hot minute.
This lineup was like a love letter to 2005, hosting the sydney leg of Alera's “cruelty in the east coast” tour with Brisbane's nervous light, two bands heavily influenced by that real early 2000s emo. topped off with the sydney thall legends elision headlining the night, it was certainly a show to remember.
Fresh off the release of their new song “mistaking the collapse for a quiet ending” a huge show opening for aussie rock royalty hands like houses and a fun little weekender with Sydney legends live like animals, Nervous light show absolutely no signs of slowing down.
This is my 3rd time seeing Nervous light and I can confidently say they just get better and better as both a live band and as songwriters. The new material coming from these guys is pure unadulterated emo, perfect if you love bands like Silverstein, armor for sleep or Hawthorne heights. Something that I really appreciated was that they had 3 vocalists, Jordan Olive on main vocals/ cleans, and Antony Borrmann and Alex Swan both screaming. 3 vocalists in the same band is something you don't see as often anymore, but they all worked so well with each other and fit the vibe perfectly.
Nervous Light will absolutely be ones to watch in the coming year, and I have a feeling this is only going to be the start of something really big for them.
Second up were easily my favourite band of the night, Melbourne screamo 5 piece, Alera.
Reminiscent of emo revival bands like underoath, seeyouspacecowboy and if I die first, they bring something different to the local australian scene that not enough bands are still doing. From catchy clean choruses like in “held captive by an apparition” juxtaposed with insanely heavy breakdowns like in “never meant to go this way, the range is astonishing.
Like nervous light, they also brought with them some new music, with the songs from their new split ep “a selfish endeavour” (with sydney emo legends satellites were set alight) making their live debut, "Nietzsche was right” standing out in particular. The energy on and off stage for this set was probably the highest for the entirety of the show, even with minor technical difficulties, they didnt let it bother them and they still put on an unforgettable show.
Lastly we had the self proclaimed “schizo-
rock” powerhouses elision, quite the pivot in style from the two bands that played prior but absolutely a welcome one, a much more djenty approach akin to bands like loathe and vildjharta. Watching elision perform is mind blowing, you can see it on the faces of most of the crowd, shocked and impressed at the range and depth of vocalist Lachlan boundys screams, as well as the technicality of the instrumentals as a whole.
At the end of the set, the crowd were also treated to a cover of linkin parks “one step closer” with both boundy and drummer josh Huntley also doing vocals, and incredibly well I might add. It always impresses me when I watch drummers deliver insane vocal performances. I dont know if its due to just niche, but I always wonder why elision aren't bigger than they are, because theres is absolutely no denying the skill and musicianship that every member of the band possesses.
Overall, the atmosphere was great, the crowd were super happy, and many stayed after to party for the actual club night, which pulls a pretty consistent crowd weekly. super fun night, will be looking forward to future events for sure.
