The power of music and musicians is astounding. With an utterance of a word, strike of a chord they can bring us to tears, rouse us to action or even encourage us to run head long into another group of people; something the punters did with relish tonight.

In the Australian hardcore scene there are none other like Parkway Drive. Hailing from Byron Bay these guys are the real deal.

They’ve spent the last five years touring the country building a following in both the city and the country and have built a massive underground fan base that has just begun to extend to the airways.

The centrepiece of their package are their live shows. Full of unbridled emotion and aggression their fans lap it up. Saturday’s show at the Royal Theatre was no exception. Not one kid came out of the pit dry, crowd surfers cruised over the heads of the punters and they all loved it.

As they have built such a cult following over time, Parkway Drive can now afford to bring a stage show with them; which on Saturday included a crowd surfing Oompah Loompah and a Hawaiian themed set.

Whilst Parkway was the main draw for the evening The Devil Wears Prada and The Ghost Inside also drew a substantial crowd and the same frenzied support as the main act.

All in all the night proved that there is a market for hardcore and all ages shows in the capital and all I can say is, bring more on.

Photos and words by Steve Box.