(words by Craig Borril – guitarist for local metal band, Raptorbaby)
(images by Henry Engelbecht)
TesseracT Live at Mercury Live, Cape Town
With Verona Walls as Support.
The highly anticipated event of 2017 begins on a mildly warm Friday evening at Cape Town’s Mercury Live. An impressively large crowd has come out to watch TesseracT live with support from Cape Town’s very own Verona Walls.
Punters from far and wide gather by the bar in preparations for the party to come as Verona Walls welcomed the night in with their meticulously crafted Progressive rock sound, a welcome to the regulars of the scene as they get the crowd rowdy and moving. With the sweat thick, Verona Walls quickly reminds everyone why they are a band of formidable force in the scene catching everyone’s attention and holding it for their entire electrifying set with the ever enigmatic Marco de Sousa on vocals orchestrating the sea in front of him.
With a massive end, Verona Walls leave the crowd in a state of excitement for they know damn well what is about to take place. Chants slowly fill up and echo off the walls in Mercury Live and TesseracT take to the stage and waste no time at all in punching through the crowds voices, exploding onto the stage with their heavy hitting “Polaris” that sends the crowd into an ebb and flow of movement. The execution of the music is unrivalled, the undertones haunting and the groove section hitting us square in the chest like a jack hammer.
Immediately, everyone was hypnotized by the syncopated melodies that drew you like a moth to the flame only to be gripped by the warm embrace of Dan’s vocal lines. From Start to finish they ripped through songs from their entire catalogue of albums ensuring that even the older fans in the crowd where gratified beyond words. Their journey from the new to the old, with personal gems like “Perfection – Concealing Fate Part 4” being executed with precision and grace that brought a tear to my eye, to the enigmatic “Hexes” capturing the crowds voice and lending to the powerful lyrics; was truly a sensory experience like none other!
The sound and lighting played an important part in setting the mood to capture the plethora of emotions TesseracT are known to conjure up and reaching that expectation is an understatement; a job well done by the all involved with the event. By the end of the show there where many standing trance like in wonder at what just happened. Some shed tears, many chanted for more; one thing was for sure though; we all were not expectant of the feeling this show would leave us with. It was the complete realisation that beautiful, captive, emotive and gripping music is still alive and unashamedly so in today’s world.
TesseracT Live at Rumours Rock City, JHB
with Support from Red Helen & Deity’s Muse.
Rumours Rock Lounge saw the second instalment of the TesseracT Live in South Africa tour, one that had already gripped Cape Town and left it shook from utter amazement at the well-oiled machine that is TesseracT.
The evening began with the ever captivating Only Forever, a band that is a staple favourite within the scene, with their blistering performance locked down; they captivated the ever growing crowd with their own unique brand of hard rock and definitely set the tone for the evening ahead, a truly great way to begin the night in style.
Next up is South Africa’s metalcore giants, Red Helen taking to stage and delivering yet another solid performance. Fresh off the road from their debut album tour, the guys in Red Helen were on fire with Brandon Pratt on vocals as always, grouping and engaging the crowd to his whim to deliver their very own brand of powerful metal. The unending movement of the crowd as testament to their stronghold in the scene, blazing guitar riffs and almost machine like drum technique executing each song with a performance like none other. This set being the proving ground for the night to follow.
After their exit from the stage the crowd took the chance to rehydrate and catch some air outside as the mighty Deity’s Muse began setting up. I see James Monteith casually standing at the back of the crowd enjoying a cold beer, taking in the atmosphere of his surroundings and grinning at the odd fan recognising him and coming over to say hi. The Turning Tricks crew hard at work at the side lines, ensuring that all is running perfectly as Deity’s Muse begin to draw the crowd right back in before their set starts. These guys are no stranger to the stage and leave the listener with a deep respect for their hard work and dedication to their meticulously thought out brand of Progressive rock, a sound that has seen them perform with many international bands and for good reason, they deliver a set worthy of everyone’s attention, precise and professionally thought out production playing a huge part in their stage performance.
I usher forward within the crowd as I’m drawn to Wayne’s infectious voice and melody atop the backdrop of Deity’s Muse’s eloquently written music. The excitement on the bands faces are projected right back at them from the crowd as they send us down the rabbit hole with them to a fitting close for a night far from finished.
With the front of the crowd already pressed up against the barrier, TesseracT stand behind the scenes preparing themselves for the final show, the piece of history that they unknowingly where about to write. Finding myself 3 rows from the front I enter the chanting of the band to come on stage, eagerly taking my place in the crowd to not miss a single instant of the show, TesseracT walk on to a dimly lit stage and tease us with their almost hypnotising presence when out of nowhere, perfectly timed and executed, they erupt once again, just like they did in Cape Town, delivering a sonic onslaught that pushes the entire crowd back and forces them right back up against the barrier.
Song after song, I find myself squeezed against more and more people that have pushed and fought their way to the front to witness what their ears are hearing, the perfectly crafted sound of TesseracT’s flawless set, one that takes the listener on a journey through their stories of the past to right in the now, hit songs from their highly accredited second album “Altered State” sung to the perfection I can come to respect from Daniel Tompkins, making his own mark on them and sending chills down my skin.
The appreciation and respect offered to us from the band the entire night made for an unforgettable experience for every single person in the venue, Dan being the soft spoken and gentlemanly person that he is, sending his praises to the crowd for the unsuspected amount of support and love really made us all feel that this night would live with both TesseracT and South African fans for a very long time to come. Turning Tricks Entertainment really did pull out all the stops and gave us a night that will live in infamy as the night TesseracT took our breaths away!
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