Review: Alison Gustavson
Photography: Luke Petty 

On the back of their 2024 US tour with Silent Planet, Ayron Jones, and Avoid, Dayseeker has returned to Australian shores to play five sold-out shows. Alongside Landon Tewers, Reliqa, and Inertia, the tour kicked off on Sunday night in Perth and continued last night at The Tivoli. With an expected 1500-odd packing out the venue, excitement filling the air, and an immeasurable amount of talent, it was bound to be a good night.

Sydney’s very own Inertia was the first to take the stage, before being due to embark upon the second leg of the Polaris 2024 Regional Australian tour next week. Performing a variety of songs, including ‘Parallels’, the band brought their A-game and got the crowd moving immediately. Perhaps the heaviest act of the night, the band made sure us breakdown-lovers were not disappointed. The band also announced that their debut album comes out on August 8th, so be sure to keep an eye out for that!

Next up was Reliqa, currently signed to Nuclear Blast and Greyscale Records. This band has made waves recently with their debut album ‘Secrets of The Future’ dropping on the 31st of May, and there was a lot of anticipation for their performance. Vocalist Monique Pym was unfortunately unwell so the band played an instrumental set, but that didn’t stop the moshers! Despite dislocating his knee, guitarist Brandon Hutcherson gave it his all, and the group delivered one hell of a show.

The Plot In You’s Landon Tewers was the direct support for the evening, and if his appearance at Good Things 2023 was anything to go by, we were in for a treat. The vocalist’s solo project has provided him with an outlet to demonstrate a different side of his music, and the softer tone was the perfect warm-up for Dayseeker. The venue itself was the perfect compliment to Tewers’ music, and the crowd certainly seemed to enjoy themselves.

Finally, it was time for the headliner. It’s no surprise that Dayseeker has exploded in popularity in recent years, but the crowd’s response when the band stepped onstage was unmatched. Opening with ‘Gates of Ivory’, everything from the mix and lights to the band’s performance was perfect; Rodriguez’s vocals were nothing short of incredible live, and the sheer amount of emotion in his voice was moving.

Turning back the clock to 2019, the band performed ‘Crooked Soul’ and ‘Burial Plot’ back to back. I think it’s safe to say we all had goosebumps during ‘Burial Plot’ – Rodriguez’s ability to seamlessly match his recorded vocals throughout all of the songs was truly inspiring. With the crowd matching the band’s energy, everyone was pouring their hearts into every word of ‘Dark Sun’ and ‘Without Me’.

Taking the energy down a notch, it was time for an acoustic rendition of ‘Paper Heart’. Notably the softest song of the night, it was one of the most moving and heartfelt, and showcased an even rawer side of the band that we hadn’t seen all night before this. It was a beautiful lead into ‘Drunk’, followed by arguably one of the band’s most popular songs: ‘Burial Plot’.

After a screaming Tivoli begged for a couple more songs, the band delivered with ‘Parallel’ and ‘Neon Grave’, once again reminding us why we shouldn’t wait another year to see the band. Tonight, the sold-out tour continues in Sydney before playing Melbourne on Saturday night.

 – GALLERY –