Live Review: British India w/ Babaganouj @ The Zoo

There are few Australian pub-rock bands who can bank on selling out shows over a decade into their careers. Most either reach for the stars and announce rare arena tours or slowly fade into the background with age, but Melbourne’s British India know exactly how put on an awesome rock show. Their sold-out performance at The Zoo showcased the best of their extensive discography and the reasons why their fanbase continues to grow.

Charged with warming up the packed ‘Zoo crowd were local gems Babaganouj. The trio, joined by a touring drummer, have been favourites in Brisbane’s indie-rock scene for years, and their upbeat set of 90s rock upheld the loft perceptions of the band.

The angelic voice of bassist Harriette Pilbeam soared through the venue as their opening number Bluff transfixed and energised the seasoned Babaganouj fans in the crowd. Those yet to experience the trio live were duly surprised by lead guitarist Charles Sale’s exuberant strumming actions, as his wall-of-distortion guitar tone somehow complimented the soft vocals.

“Sale cracked plenty of short jokes and commentary about the band, and he and McGregor even had a short discussion about Limp Bizkit trivia.”

Babaganouj are definitely a harder rock band live compared to their coy recordings, their set sounding like a combination of Brisbane legends Screemfeeder and a mellow Smashing Pumpkins. Second guitarist Ruby McGregor took the lead on the band’s calmer songs such as Do Rite With Me Tonight, while the harmonies between Sale and Pilbeam were the calm eye in the storm of their heavier rock tracks.

Their banter between songs was as enjoyable as their music with Sale cracking plenty of jokes and commentary, he and McGregor even having a short discussion about Limp Bizkit trivia. The highlight of their set was Hit Song from their latest EP ‘Pillar of Light’, its ironically catchy chorus eventually winning over the stubborn crowd and evoking pockets of swaying and cool-guy head bops.

After a decent dance to the Jamiroquai track that blared over the P.A, the crowd were primed and ready for the Melbourne quartet to rock their socks off. Without hesitation British India jumped onstage and launched into Black and White Radio, the opening track from their 2007 debut album ‘Guillotine’. Lead guitarist Nic Wilson treated the mosh to an early shred as he stood atop the foldbacks within touching distance of the adoring crowd.

They then blasted straight into This Dance Is Loaded, which saw frontman Declan Melia forget about his guitar to instead ‘dance’ with his mic stand. For a small man, Melia’s stage presence is undeniably massive when he arcs up to passionately deliver his sermons about pub-rock and sh*tty parts of relationships.

British India by this point were visibly stoked, with Melia thanking the crowd, “You guys are doing more singing than us!”.

After high-fiving the mosh as Wilson had another shred, Melia addressed the heaving crowd, “We’re British India from Melbourne, Victoria. This song is called This Dance Is Loaded and you’re about to dance like you’ve never danced before”…and by god The Zoo danced, f*cking hard!

The set list was perfectly ordered for moshing, followed by just enough time to catch your breath before again jumping around like a maniac. Safari, the opener of their 2010 album ‘Avalanche’, evoked plenty of flailing limbs before the title track of their latest album Nothing Touches Me, album opener Spider Chords, and an older single Souvenirs saw the crowd calm just enough for a lengthy sing-along.

British India then reignited the mosh pit with their stand-alone single March Into The Ocean, during which the crowd deafeningly helped Melia with the “wooooah oooooh” sections. For some reason a condom-balloon suddenly started floating around the venue, on which Melia accurately commentated, “It took us two years to write our last album, but you’re more entertained by that”.

The 4-piece then ran through fan favourites Christmas In The Trenches, which featured some incredible fills and a solo from drummer Matt O’Gorman, and oldie Red The Red Light, which sounded just as energetic and brilliant live as it did back in 2007.

British India’s best slow-burner Vanilla, perfectly described by one punter as “a f*cking tune!”, was as absorbing as ever, and received another mass sing-along. British India by this point were visibly stoked, with Melia thanking the crowd, “You guys are doing more singing than us!”.

“What happened next DID NOT go according to plan.”

The mosh grew even larger and the crowd’s singing louder as British India rounded out their pre-encore set with bonafide pub-rock anthems and their most well-known singles Summer Forgive Me, I Can Make You Love Me, and Wrong Direction. British India are by far one of the best active Australian pub-rock bands – their simple but powerful songs, live musicianship, and genuine humbleness are unmatched.

What happened next DID NOT go according to plan. British India came back onstage one-by-one to an ecstatic crowd before subtly dropping Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name Of. As if the song’s climatic intro was a not-so-cryptic message, the mosh went absolutely mental. A circle pit formed before those closest to the stage proceeded to jump up and join the band. At first this seemed okay, but then the rest of the mosh stormed the stage, much to the unpleasant surprise of both British India and the now-scrambling security staff.

Like the true legends they are, British India continued to play through the cover even though the swarm of punters on stage were knocking Wilson off his guitar and Melia struggled to keep both his balance and the microphone.

As enjoyably rowdy as British India are live, those who swarmed the stage showed no respect to the band, The Zoo, or the rest of the crowd. Let’s just hope this doesn’t result in The Zoo changing the intimate nature of the venue’s stage…