Pond prove yet again why they are amongst Australias best modern psych rock bands
Article written by and Photos by Mauricio Domingo
If there has to be one word to describe Pond, it would be consistency, time and time again, they show it through their constant album releases. Having now released eleven studio albums over the last seventeen years with each one bringing something new to the table, yet remaining true to the Pond sound. But best of all, the live performences are truly a spectacle to behold. After what seems to be a lifetime ago, Western Australia's psychedelic rock/pop band made their return to Colorado on September 12 at the Gothic Theater currently on tour supporting their new album Terrestrials.
For those unaware, Pond consists of frontman Nicholas Allbrook, Jay Watson, Jamie Terry, Joseph Ryan and James Ireland. Heading inside I immediately noticed the sheer amount of other band t-shirts people were wearing that share history with Pond. Two of which stuck out like a sore thumb, such as King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard whose member Ambrose Kenny Smith did a collaborative album with Jay Watson, and Tame Impala, which aside from being a former member of the band, went on to help co-produce five of Ponds records.
You could tell the fanbase rode deep, with some people flying in from out of state just for this show. Nick and Co. went onstage around 9 to what looked to be a fully sold out audience, as there was hardly much room to move, and as you can guess the crowd got loud. Cheers and claps went on for a while as everyone got settled into their positions to deliver an electric performance. Before doing so, Nick went on to speak to the crowd directly, mentioning how they have finally broken the curse and are finally playing at the Gothic Theater. Which may not have made sense to most of the crowd unless you were in the know, thankfully I was.
Back in 2022 Pond were on tour in the states with the Gothic Theater being a stop. Unfortunately, James suffered a back injury before getting the chance to play in Denver, which then caused them to reschedule the show to the following year. Easy enough some would say, except it wasn't. Following that another unfortunate event pursued which was Nick's Visa application not getting approved on time, to no fault of their own, which then resulted in the cancellation of new and rescheduled dates for 2023. They have since been back to Denver, but not at the Gothic, until now.
So it’s easy to say that the crew were ready, essentially three years in the making, Pond were ready to give it their all, and their all is exactly what they gave. Immediately starting with the tone setter “Whatever Happened To The Million Head Collide?” Starting off with a well paced beat with Nicks vocals and Jamie’s bassline leading the way, it goes on for some time before it breaks into fuzzy guitar riffs by Jay and Joseph and Jamie with the clashing drums, making the crowd go wild as a small mosh pit formed. From then on it was all gas no brakes with Nick being at the forefront of it all. His constant energy and interaction with the crowd was a warm welcome. For the next hour and a half over the course of sixteen songs, Gothic Theater was rocking, nonstop dancing, moshing, singing, you name it. Blending new material such as “Skyworks” or the catchy “Two Hands” with the old including the fan favorite hypnotic “Sweep Me Off My Feet” and groovy “Paint Me Silver.” You could not help but immerse yourself in the layers of sound being produced. Being the bold and crazy man that Nick is, during the second to final song “Terrestrials,” Allbrook dove off the stage and crowdsurfed for a while before being surfed back to the stage. There's a reason they are amongst the best bands to come out of Australia in recent times. Anyone who attended the show will tell you the amount of energy the band put out that night, and how the crowd reciprocated it. Although their current tour is nearing its end, you better believe they'll be coming back soon, and when they do, you will not want to miss it.
