Words + Photos: Jasmine Aquino
The last time Against The Current came to Australia was three years ago – supporting American singer/songwriter Alex Goot on his Asia-Australia tour. The New York-based pop/rock band returned to Australia this month for their In Our Bones tour to perform their very first headliner shows down under. The band performed at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville, Sydney on Saturday, and I was lucky enough to attend and photograph the band’s first ever Sydney headliner show.
The opening act for the night was Sydney-based Just Breathe. Due to difficulties with getting into the venue, I was unable to photograph the band, however, the portion of their set that I managed to witness was very entertaining and filled energy. Despite this, I think that the band’s overall vibe didn’t completely align with Against the Current’s. Alas, their performance was a great way to build up the crowd’s excitement for the upcoming performances later that night.
Next up was Stateside from Brisbane. Stateside immediately caught the attention of the crowd with the band’s high energy and powerful vocals. The majority of the crowd were smiling and dancing, and numerous fans were also singing along to the music. It was clear that the band was favoured by crowd.
Half an hour after Stateside’s set, the wait was finally over, and Against The Current came on. The band opened up with their upbeat track Running With the Wild Things, causing the crowd to roar with excitement only seconds into the song. The high energy that frontwoman Chrissy Costanza initially came on stage with never ceased once during the show - if anything, it only amplified as the night went on.
Against The Current continued to hype up the crowd with high energy tunes such as Blood Like Gasoline, Paralyzed, and Forget Me Now. Following this, the band performed Runaway, One More Weekend, and Chasing Ghosts. The vibe amongst the crowd was electric: filled with so much excitement, anticipation, and happiness. I couldn’t help but notice that all the fans were smiling and cheering endlessly.
Next up was Roses, Chrissy Costanza’s personal favourite from their album In Our Bones. The performance was flawless; raw with emotion. The connection that the frontwoman had with the track was undeniably strong. The band then continued on with Dreaming Alone off their Gravity EP, and Brighter, which features on both the Gravity EP and their debut album.
The show was quite small and intimate, making it easy for engagement between the band and the crowd to occur throughout the show. Several fans chanted out the classic “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie”, and Chrissy Costanza began talking about the band’s past experience with the chant in response to it. She explained how the band was asked to say it whilst recording a promotional video for the Australian leg of the tour: “It sounds cool when you guys say it, but when a bunch of Americans do it, it’s just weird.”
Talk was definitely a crowd favourite. Fans were screaming out the lyrics at the top of their lungs, vivaciously chanting out “Talk, talk, talk, talk!” at the conclusion of each chorus, in sync with the track. Following this, the band performed Wasteland, a slower song in comparison to the previous number
Against The Current then left the stage, resulting in the fans chanting out “ATC”, asking for one more song. The band returned to the stage, and finished off their set with a bang, performing Gravity.
To say that Chrissy Costanza’s vocals blew me away would be an understatement. The frontwoman managed to carry out consistency in her powerful vocals despite speedily moving across the stage throughout the entire performance. I honestly don’t think she stayed in one spot for more than five seconds her energy and stage presence was impeccable. Against The Current’s Sydney headliner show was fantastic and an incredible success, and I can’t wait to see what’s next in store for the band.
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