Ocean Grove with support from Seething Akira and DREAMEATER
at The Joiners in Southampton, UK
photos by Phoebe Reeks, words by David Barter

Ocean Grove made their debut appearance in Southampton at renowned venue, The Joiners, approaching the end of the UK segment of their European tour. Opening the night were supporting bands, Seething Akira and DREAMEATER.

Vocalist Sam Culverwell of DREAMEATER ignited energy into the room from start to finish with his big presence on stage and aggressive vocals, a tough feat for a Monday night. The group played a tight set, doing their best to try get a docile crowd engaged, with gratitude to the audience for being there before the headline act. They demonstrated a wide variety of their skill-set, which saw a contrast of heavier tracks with their newer more unique style in ‘dontprayforme’, the intro to their most recent album Cold; resembling the likes of well renown Australian rap-metal band, DVSR.

Portsmouth-originating Seething Akira followed, injecting their quirky dynamic into the atmosphere of the venue which was a good precedent in what to to expect from the headliners. Vocalist, Kit Conrad, emerged himself within the audience from the start sharing his chaotic energy as he danced back and forth along the front. His performance, combined with a lively presence from the rest of the group on stage grabbed the crowd’s attention as the evening journeyed towards its pinnacle.

They played a scope of new and old tracks featuring the likes of ‘Something in the Water’, ‘Ded’ and ‘Dioxide’.

With the fans sufficiently warmed up, Ocean Grove took to the stage, ending the evening in spectacular fashion. Starting the performance with the energetic track ‘SUPERSTAR’ from 2020 album Flip Phone Fantasy, the group showcased their larger-than-life personalities. Without easing off, they raced into ‘JUNKIE$’ another off the same release. The audience met the band’s energy, with the venue walls shaking as fans danced and moshed to every second of rapturous melodies.

Introducing newer tracks from the most recent album, Up In The Air Forever, frontman and vocalist Dale Tanner welcomed everyone to their iconic community dubbed “The Oddworld” as they dove into ‘SEX DOPE GOLD’. They rounded off their first chapter of their act with ‘GUYS FROM THE GOURD’, a heavy, cavernous track, infused with elements of drum and bass that got any remaining static spectator moving or clapping. Drummer, Sam Bassal used this as an opportunity to flare his incredible talent behind the kit with a jaw-dropping solo that he has a reputation for displaying at live shows.

As the natural break in the set begun the next chapter, the Aussie group took fans back to 2017’s The Rhapsody Tapes, the last album they fully toured in the UK, with fan-favourite, ‘Thunderdome’. The whole room sang the lyrics back as everyone revelled in the throwback in total admiration. Former vocalist, Luke ‘Poochy’ Holmes was welcomed to the stage as a guest appearance for two tracks as he reprised his role for ‘Lights on Kind of Lover’ and ‘Stratosphere Love’. It was an excellent experience to see his vocal performance once again, which is likely to be a rare opportunity for many fans to have in the future, making the evening that extra bit more special.

Dale devoted the start of the second half to all the all the outcasts and oddballs, in a warming manner as they begun ‘SILVER LINING’. Even deep into the set list, the vocal performances never faltered as they hit a wide dynamic range between the frontman and bassist, Twiggy Hunter. After an ecstatic response to ‘CALI SUN’, Dale and Twiggy swapped roles for the more rappy number ‘NEO’. Former Storm The Sky guitarist, Andy Szetho, who has been the band’s fill-in member on tour, put his mark on the night as he tailed off into a mesmerising solo in the penultimate song ‘Bored’.

Ocean Grove took a moment to thank fans for coming and genuinely express how much they appreciate everyone’s attention after coming back from a turbulent break from touring amidst the pandemic. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the evening drew to a close with the huge anthem ‘SUNNY’. Both the crowd and band made the most of the final moments together as the room reached its apex of energy as Dale jumped into the crowd to close the night.

This has got to be one of the strongest performances I’ve ever witnessed at The Joiners, with everyone being fully consumed purely in the moment. Ocean Grove have certainly left their stamp on Southampton and hopefully they will return in the near future. This band put on an incredible performance, and you should definitely check them out next time there’s an opportunity to see them live.

OCEAN GROVE: SOUTHAMPTON, UK

DREAMEATER

SEETHING AKIRA

OCEAN GROVE