The Murder Capital - Sydney - 5 April 2025

I had high hopes for The Murder Capital and they didn’t disappoint. In fact, they went far above and beyond. Australia was their third stop on their Blindness World Tour. There’d been minor changes in the setlists as the tour progressed, mainly in which of their earlier songs they included. In Sydney they played 17 tracks, nine from the new album. I recorded the following eight: The Stars Will Leave Their Stage (00:28) That Feeling (05:32) Feeling Fades (10:35) Slowdance I (15:10) Slowdance II (19:34) Crying (23:20) Can't Pretend to Know (28:26) Love of Country (32:12) Unfortunately, there’s not a great deal of choice of where to stand at the Crowbar if you want a good view of the stage. Great visuals from the barrier, but as usual, the vocals are lost beneath the instruments. Damien Tuit’s guitar work dominates throughout my recording but I don’t mind too much. He was brilliant. James McGovern’s vocals do occasionally shine through, adding the poignancy contained in so many of their lyrics. James appeared to have a bad cold. If he performs this well when he’s sick, he must be truly amazing when he’s at his best. The Murder Capital should have sold out a much larger venue. There aren’t many bands around who can play their instruments as well as these guys, weaving together such beautiful, intimate melodies. I feel privileged to have seen them up close, because if they do ever come back to Australia, there’s going to be a lot more people at their concerts.