Smells like… Nirvana?
Since touring with Evanescence, the popularity of this band has risen sharply. Some may say that this is not the best way for a bands fan base to evolve, but in Seether’s case, it was bound to happen for their angst-rock is tailor made for the masses.
Kicking off with the lead in track on ‘Disclaimer II’, Seether appear to be on top form this evening - sounding less like Kurt Cobain than ever. I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that if Kurt and Chad found a way to produce offspring, the end result would be the identical twin of Seether. The blinding delivery of ‘Gasoline’ almost convinced me otherwise. The second track, however, is so grunge it begs for a bath. Shaun Morgan’s voice slips so quickly back into the Cobain way of moving it’s rather a shock. The growling bass, the screeching guitars and that gravelly voice... it all sounds so familiar. It may have been recorded before, but that doesn’t make it a sure-fire success. Where Nirvana used to stand proudly in the eyes of this crowd, Seether now squat like a territorial monkey and it would seem many of the people assembled here tonight are not after something new - rather, they want to hear music that reminds them of a time now long gone.
Where Seether do succeed however, is the construction of their set. Slick, sharp and to the point, there are no songs to fluff out the set and no songs that outstay their (rather large) welcome; each song is met with a furious bellow of approval from the crowd.
Perhaps it is just a stage mask, but even when Shaun talks, or rather growls, at the audience, he sounds American. There is no trace of his South African origins in his gravel path voice. If it wasn’t for a large South African flag being waved around, you would not laugh at someone for saying that Seether are an American band because they really are the epitome of modern American grunge. With a huge American tour right behind their back, it is unsurprising that their sound has been influenced.
‘Driven Under’ has that certain decadent feel to its hypnotic, moody guitars that InMe can only begin to touch on one in a blue moon. All the time throughout Seether’s set, you’re waiting for Shaun to break into “With the lights out, it's less dangerous/Here we are now, entertain us!” Sadly, this moment never comes. The catastrophe of the heavy drumming hitting the walls could however, provide a cheap alternative to a rampant rabbit for those on a budget.
When ‘Broken’ is finally pulled out of the hat like an excited rabbit (the magicians' rather than the Anne Summer’s version) and set loose on the now rabid audience, it has the desired effect. Imagine ‘Broken’ minus Amy Lee and add the chanting of a large amount of sweaty rockers trying to restrain their anger and you have the right idea.
Looking purely at the performance side of Seether, you simply cannot fault them. They give the audience what they want, but if you’re after something far more important, you might have to look elsewhere because although they provide a tight, well presented set, they simply do not have the diversity that so many other bands, including their support act, have.