Photo + Words: Caitlin Mellors
Between their massive UK & Euro tour with Poppy, Australia’s Ocean Grove announced a run of sideshows with Fox Lake. Sheffield was lucky enough to be one of the four dates, with Displacer later confirmed to open the show. If you weren’t at this sold out show, you missed out on serious amounts of chaos.
There wasn’t a moment’s reprieve once the music kicked off; it was heavy from the start and the energy simply did not drop. Displacer absolutely smashed their opening set, setting a high standard for the evening ahead. Within the intimate setting of Corporation’s upstairs room, the crowd and band interactions were symbiotic. Circle pits, stage diving, crowd surfing? You name it, Sheffield brought it.
After such a solid start from Displacer, the air in the room seemed to crackle with anticipation as the crowd watched the crew get the stage ready for Fox Lake. Once they appeared, that anticipation changed into pure, unadulterated mayhem. The crowd wasn’t spared for a single second as the band delivered some seriously heavy shit from the get go, it was almost like a loving punch in the face. Frontman Nathan Johnson was a force of nature, commanding the crowd like he was born to it. Fox Lake delivered their relentless “Mile High” power of gritty vocals and nu-metal bounce and the crowd ate it up.
There was a sense of total lawlessness in the air that night, so much so that frontman Dale Tanner smirked at the crowd as he shouted “There’s no barrier, do something crazy!” It took all of ten seconds before one fan crowd surfed his way onto the stage only to perform a stage dive back into the moshing crowd. The night was fast, and frantic, and exactly what live music should feel like.
The band played some real fan favourites and heavy hitters throughout the night, with the likes of ‘My Disaster, ‘Raindrop’, and even the slower ‘Last Dance’ which prompted a sea of phone torches raised high. But between the hits, Tanner had to stop for a moment to show the bands appreciation for the city. “Our ninth time in Sheffield…feels like our second home.” You could feel the love throughout the night, not just with his words but the bands interaction with the Yorkshire crowd – fist-bumping the entire front row being a highlight of mine.
You’d think things would start to slow down somewhat when you get to the last two songs, but not at an Ocean Grove gig. The last two songs of the night might just have stolen the show. During ‘Junkie$’, the small room split down the middle as per Tanner’s request, making what can only be described as the smallest yet most dedicated wall of death I’ve ever seen. It wouldn’t surprise me if the collision shook more than just the foundations of Corporation, but the whole street. For the final song ‘Fly Away’, Tanner pointed up at the ceiling and decreed “Sing it so loud you’ll blow a hole in that roof!” Pure carnage and joy ensued. And once again the structural integrity of the building was tested.
As the song faded out, Tanner called out with a final, breathless shout “Incredible Sheffield!” And judging by the sweat and smiles from both the crowd and the band, it was a feeling that was entirely mutual.
Taped Magazine 