[Review] Teddy Swims @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 25/08/2023
Review By Terri Nas
A mild August night in the city led me to the Forum Theatre last Friday, to go and experience Mr Teddy Swims for the first time. The Georgia-born singer is currently touring the world and blowing away audiences on his “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Tour”, accompanied by his 5-piece band Freak Freely. For the amount of gigs I’ve been to throughout my life, this old music lover is ashamed to admit that she has never been to a gig at the Forum so it was a night of firsts all round for me.
The 94-year-old theatre is a beauty in itself, with its iconic ceiling and clever lighting that has you believing you’re star gazing under a night sky, which instantly sets the tone as soon as you enter its doors. Being a recently initiated Teddy fan myself and given the diversity of his music style, I was interested to see the demographic of his audience that flock to his concerts were predominately aged between 30-50.
There was a buzz throughout the crowd who were settling into position and keenly anticipating having their socks blown off. To begin the sock-blowing process, young Aussie talent Mia Wray kicked off proceedings with a hauntingly beautiful acapella version of Work For Me. From the first note the packed theatre was in complete silence, mesmerised by the spell her incredible voice had cast on us. A collective case of hardcore goosebumps ensued, and this was one hell of a baptism into her music for me. Mia was absolutely brilliant and I’m now officially a huge fan and can’t get enough of her voice. Her entire set was incredible and included Never Gonna Be The Same, Evidence & Monster Brain.
The crowd was now officially warmed up and we didn’t have to wait long at all for Teddy to arrive. Thank god he opened the show with 911, because we needed the paramedics and fire brigade on standby for this shit-hot show. For The Rest Of Your Life followed in which Teddy promised to deliver an even better show, than when he was on Australian shores last year. When the iconic piano intro of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ started up, the crowd went crazy and they couldn’t help but sing along passionately to every single word of the 80’s rock classic.
Naughty Teddy then told the story of when he got into trouble with his girlfriend over some ‘compromising’ photos on his phone, which inspired What More Can I Say. At this point, the crowd just wanted to keep upping their Dose of the drug that is Teddy’s voice. Teddy has a voice that reverberates throughout your entire core and will evoke a range of emotions within you in just a few brief notes. Devil In A Dress was a crowd favourite, which was followed by Someone Who Loved You which was written about Teddy’s “stupid ass ex-girlfriend” as he so bluntly put it.
When the opening bars of Lose Control fired up, that’s exactly what the crowd did, and this song being one of my favourites had me feeling all the things and getting completely lost in the moment. Amazing was next on the list and whilst still trying to recover from its predecessor, this heartfelt love ballad planted a lump in my throat and had all the couples in the room holding each other just that little bit tighter. With it’s beautiful lyrics and his mesmerising voice, I was simultaneously melting through the floor whilst trying to hold my tears back throughout the song’s entirety.
Teddy then went on to remind us that the most important people in the world are mothers, and that we need to always treasure them. His Shania Twain cover of Still The One-which is one of the songs responsible for thrusting him onto the world stage- was next so as he led into it he beautifully dedicated it to all the mamas out there. We were then treated to a new song off his latest album, Some Things I’ll Never Know, which is about relationships ending and not getting the closure you need to move forward. Teddy was visibly emotional and overwhelmed at the crowd’s response and couldn’t have been more appreciative and humbled by the love and support he received from his fans.
A rendition of Happy Birthday was sung to his best friend and tour photographer who was hiding side of stage, and Teddy gushed about how wonderful his best friend is and added that he is blessed to have the best job in the world. Emotions were still running high, and he was still trying to recover and “get his shit together” as he led into All That Really Matters.
At the conclusion of the song Teddy disappeared and we were left wondering if we would get an encore as the crowd definitely weren’t done with him yet. He reappeared a few minutes later to let us know that he was “about to piss his pants” which was the main reason for his sudden departure. When the band fired up the first couple of bars of the classic Tennessee Whiskey, the crowd went mental and I myself, nearly had a heart attack as it is one of my most favourite songs. Teddy’s voice really is as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey and is so well-suited to this song, and the crowd couldn’t help but sing along to the smooth country love ballad.
Teddy’s departing gift to us was his hit song Bed On Fire, which left the crowd on a complete high. Despite his husky soul voice with a dash of falsetto for good measure, he manages to adapt himself seamlessly into multiple genres like soul, pop, country & RnB, broadening his talent and his fanbase. His fun-loving but humble personality makes him appealing, and you can tell that he truly appreciates his fans and the love that they show him. It was a bloody brilliant gig all round and if you’ve never heard of Teddy Swims, then I implore you to jump onto a streaming app and check out his stuff because I can guarantee you definitely won’t be disappointed.
[Gallery] Eagles Of Death Metal @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 25/07/2023
Eagles of Death Metal
Delta Riggs
Southern River Band
[Review] Slowdive @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 22/07/2023
Review By Nikki Eenink
A hipster in the World’s Smallest Beanie, a middle-aged couple with tattoos peeking out from under their jumpers and a leather-jacket clad goth walk into a venue. You ask them who they’re there to see. As a chorus they say, Slowdive. This was the exact situation I was faced with one freezing Friday night at Melbourne’s The Forum. And it was absolutely packed. Long before the opening riffs of support act Flyying Colours, the Forum is overflowing with swaying heads, bodies clothed in all black and the smells of uniquely spicy, floral perfumes. The anticipation hangs in the air, it mixes with impatience, and we all crane our heads, desperately waiting for the lights to dim. Slowdive has been sold out for a long time, and tickets were literally impossible to nab second-hand, so to say I was excited to be there, is an understatement. Clearly, everyone else is too. Two days after turning 24, I was ready to watch a band which defines a search for identity in your 20s. As the mothers of one of the Melancholic Youth’s favourite genres, shoegaze, the British 5-piece have been spitting out top-of-the-line, sad ambience since 1989.
Opening is Australia’s own, Flyying Colours. Who, despite having no bassist, create one of the most beautiful musical experiences I could ever imagine. Using backing tracks, the three vocalists create wonderous layers of loud. Songs like Ok sound better in the open spaces of The Forum, they linger in the air and taper off in such a delightful way. It is perfect harmony all the way through, the three voices melting together like butter, the guitars and the drums never fighting for dominance – instead sharing the sound equally. Flyying Colours really can’t be defined by genre. They have mastered shoegaze; with some tracks throwing it back to the 90’s – sad oozing chords, low voices which spit out lines of lovesick poetry. But equally, they can do poppier tracks, sort of Australian-picnic vibes. Either side of the coin, they are the perfect band to listen to on a car ride, they are a walking film soundtrack, they are the perfect opener for Slowdive. They don’t spend much time speaking to us, aside from the odd, profuse “thank you”, instead they take us from song to song. Their setlist is so heart wrenchingly gorgeous I don’t want the songs to end, and they know that. We are eating out of their hands, never wanting the spell to break. And then, they’re done, and we are left wanting more – and aching for tonight’s main act.
I find shoegaze especially hard to write about, the songs are wonderfully atmospheric, they take you on a journey that it can be hard to tell when one ends and when one begins. But Slowdive, masterful as always, have found the perfect way to punctuate their show. Behind the band is the biggest projection screen I’ve ever seen at a concert like this. Insane visuals dance across the screen throughout the show – Out-of-Body experience is putting it lightly.
Slowdive walk on stage so suddenly, softly, so without fuss. Rachel Goswell is wearing the most fabulous pink-and-red feathered cape. She takes the microphone with gentle hands, looking down at the floor before taking a big breath in – and we begin. Opening so strong with Slomo, the screen behind them wiggles and morphs, the graphic looking like oil on water. The insane rainbow acid-trip of colours cover the band, they look like silhouettes, peacefully strumming, plucking, and drumming. The song ends, and it’s clear Goswell is our spokesperson for the night. Between every song she just leans into the microphone and says, “Thank you”. In return, there is an endless sea of “We love you, Rachel!” being shrieked from the crowd. To this, again, she just says; “Thank you”, this time with a blushing side-smile.
Then we are thrown into it again. An absolutely unreal line-up of songs pours out of the band. From self-titled Slowdive, into Avalyn – with the visuals turning into something that looks like a sci-fi highway. Swirling lights, and long lines invite us to jump into a super-fast car – TRON style. Catch the Breeze into Star Roving are stunning, the lights on the band are just white, with a grey wash covering the stage. The visuals are insane, they only grow in complexity with each passing song. This time, there is a pill, moving and spinning – leaving trails of itself across the screen. On one side it says “SD” and the other “1-989”. I can’t look away. I feel my head moving from side to side as I follow it on its journey. It’s hard to say exactly where I went, but I couldn’t think about much of anything, except that I needed more of this music. Every bad feeling I’d ever had, every doubt, every moment of self-loathing was bandaged by the masterful drumming’s of Simon Scott, Nick Chaplin’s warm, moody bass playing and the indescribable guitar work of Christian Savill and main songwriter, Neil
Halstead. It’s all nearly too-much. The visuals and the sounds are a complete consumption of the senses, it’s easy to lose yourself, but it is just right.
It's during Souvlaki Space Station, that something special happens. At the end of the song, the screen becomes a wild place – harsh lights quickly pulling away, like we are being sucked into a black hole. And then I notice that someone is screaming. Or is it part of the song? I stand there, transfixed. I’m still not sure. But it is a guttural, primal scream from deep inside someone. Slowdive reached into their gut and pulled out all the shameful, painful shit inside. And in a fit of catharsis, they scream. And I realise, we all want to. I imagine myself screaming, throwing all of that shit against the projection screen, and letting the music of Slowdive suck me into the black hole – ready to be born anew.
Sugar for the Pill and Alison are such strong personal favourites. These songs have rescued me from dark pits with no end. I touch my cheek and realise I’m crying. And I’m not alone.
I think I’ve tried every anti-depressant on the market in an attempt to ease my daily melancholia. None of them put a dent in the physical and mental relief When The Sun Hits provides. This song has to be in the arsenal of every gently aged music-lover in a genuinely vintage concert shirt for some band we’ve heard a million times at a family friend’s barbeque, and every emerging adult, eyeliner laid on thick, peering at the stage through heavy eyelids. A lattice of projected lights shifts around the projection screen, lines all moving together; I can nearly hear its heartbeat. Everything Slowdive touches, turns to life. The soundwaves sit so thick in the air I breathe them in with every inhale and swear I can nearly touch the perfectly played melody. An entire audience does something between a sing, a yell, and a scream. “It matters where you are!” It feels like we sing it over and over, until it becomes a mantra. This crowd cares about each other, as weird and diverse as we might be, there is such an incredible community between us.
If you know me, you know I fucking hate encores. So, when Slowdive was gearing up for theirs, I was very humdrum. But then, they play Dagger and 40 Days. One is the closer of their cult-classic album, Souvlaki and is never given the praise it deserves, and the other is a cult-classic in its own right. They have absolutely smashed it. I almost like encores now.
The visuals turn off, and the band walks off again, Halstead holds his baseball cap in his hands. But we don’t want to leave. My legs ache, but my feet feel like lead. It takes everything in me to turn my back on the stage and head into the night.
I know I’ve just written 1400 words on it, but I still don’t have the right words to describe my experience at The Forum. I’ve been into the Slowdive black-hole, and I’m never coming back.
[Gallery] You Me At Six @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 16/07/2023
You Me At Six
Set It Off
Between You And Me
[Gallery] Jungle Giants @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 23/06/2023
Jungle Giants
The Lazy Eyes
Aroha
[Review] Jungle Giants @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 23/06/2023
Review By Nikki Eenink
I’m convinced that every Australian under 30 has been made to watch The Jungle Giants at least once. Except it’s less, “A Clockwork Orange” and more “oh noooo, please don’t make me watch one of Australia’s most iconic, musically sharp, banger-producing bands, play yet another festival oh noooo”. Like clockwork, every festival season, Sam Hales and his gang take to the stage and absolutely rock a sea of bucket-hat wearers. I have been this bucket-hat wearer, and always look forward to somehow ending up at The Jungle Giants stage and dancing in the beating sun. But something I’d never done, was see them play at an indoor venue, especially not one as intimate as Melbourne’s The Forum.
The Lazy Eyes, however, were a new treat for me. And treat is the right word. The band members are unassuming; lead singer Harvey Geraghty looks like a more relaxed Kurt Cobain, if Cobain ever decided to pursue the synth instead of the guitar. Itay Shachar shreds on lead guitar, and he looks like a missing member of notorious Loser-Rock band Weezer; big glasses frames hiding his face, white button up tucked into chinos – the whole ensemble. But these guys aren’t Loser-Rock, they’re cool, very cool. They have this laid-back air about them as they wind through tracks from their various releases, as if it’s no-big-deal that they are playing flawlessly. They easily match the quality of their recordings, and then blow it out of the water. Even as newcomers, they are a band that was born to play live. A highlight in their set was undeniably their cover of More Than A Woman by the BeeGees, it was the same disco-esque beat we all know and love, mixed with Lazy Eye’s own psych-rock sensibilities – and it was awesome. During personal fave; Where’s My Brain??, the fearsome foursome are playing so loud, I can feel the wall I’m leaning on wobble, pulsing with every slam Noah Martin delivers to the kick-drum. The venue is literally alive, Lazy Eyes it’s metronomic heartbeat. After blowing our minds, and nearly blowing the ceiling off The Forum, front-man Geraghty thanks us with a beaming grin; “Thanks! We’re going to play some piano songs now.” He says it as if that last track wasn’t anything special. What’s jaw-dropping for the rest of us, is just another day for The Lazy Eyes. Once the piano comes out we are treated to unreleased track; Better Off This Way. “We’re going to play you one more love song and then get outta here. This is the first-ever song we put out, and it’s called Cheesy Love Song”. I love Cheesy Love Song, it reminds me of going to highschool in New South Wales – just like The Lazy Eyes. For anyone who had crushes or romances in the suburbs of some satellite-city, this one’s for you. Enjoy your meal.
It’s easy to forget how young the four guys onstage are, with their ever-growing trail of releases, international festival slots and rave reviews. But when Geraghty takes the mic to say, “This is the last show of our tour with The Jungle Giants, and it’s been a massive pleasure. Thanks to them for inspiring us and putting up with our shit!” And I look at all their beaming smiles, it hits me. They’re still just four young men, unsure how they got to this stage, but they are damn well not going to lose it. They bring the support act to a close with Fuzz Jam. Gerahgty gets weird with the synth, playing with his voice “oooooh” becoming “oOOoOoOh”. I can see him giggling a little bit. But, somehow, even while they are having a mess-around – they’re flawless. Bassist Leon Karagic is absolutely ripping into his bass strings, giving us the solo of a lifetime. Dissatisfied with the crowd’s energy, Geraghty just says, “Can I get a little more movement?” and subtly waves his arm up, and the crowd goes for it. Girls who drink Somersbys and guys who drink GOAT beers throwing their arms in the air and shimmying and jostling. And then, they leave the stage, and no one moves – despite the 20-minute space between acts. All of our eyes are glued to the stage, desperately trying to make our main act appear.
In the gap between acts, jungle-esque techno is playing through the venue, just in case you’d forgotten you were here to see The Jungle Giants. The crowd is awash with people in cowboy hats. I’m confused, but rocking with the vibe nonetheless.
Then, the lights go dark and tendrils of light burst from the stage and make us squint to see the silhouettes of the Brisbane-icons take the stage. The room is holding it’s breath, you could hear a pin drop. Instead of a pin, we hear the voice of front-man Sam Hales, one we will hear a lot of through the night, say two simple words; “Let’s go” and we are thrown into Something Got Between Us. Normally, crowds need a bit of warming up, but we are sufficiently warm. So when Hales starts a call-and-response with us, we are immediately there with him, not a drop of hesitation. The iconic festival banger is one a lot of us had to miss last time The Jungle Giants were in town, Laneway ’23, due to The Great Jungle Giants / 100 gecs Timeslot Clash. So we are making up for it now. People are on each others shoulders, hats are being waved in the air, we are screaming back to the band onstage:
“Hey! Never gonna let you go! Not. This. Time.”
There’s always something amazing about the last show of a tour, the band gives it everything they’ve got, but it isn’t without a slight air of mourning. Hales is an extraordinary vocalist at the best of times, but tonight he’s something else. He belts these incredibly long, high notes that aren’t even on the recording. He’s letting it all out. And the energy in the room is matching this. In between every song, he lets out; “The energy in here is fucking fantastic. It’s something else. It’s ethereal.” Send Me Ur Loving is their second track, and our energy only grows. The question is, how long can we last? (Spoiler: The energy only grows for the next 90 minutes, thanks to the masterful musicianship and audience connection that makes The Jungle Giants one of Australia’s best.)
You’re a great crowd, we can tell that already, so we are gonna treat you fucking right tonight.” And they do, literally. Treat You Right is the next cab off the rank, and just like the songs before it, it’s so good. The lighting team is absolutely crushing it with these big washes of purple, red and orange. Spotlights going crazy on the band, and on us. They are giving it everything they’ve got. You can tell The Jungle Giants play at festivals, they know what crowds want. This tiny space is alive. I can nearly feel the grass, and taste the canned water, and feel my pupils becoming dinner plates. They have created a nostalgia-pill, a yearning for summertime, a much-needed release from Melbourne’s unrelenting winter. And then, suddenly, silence. The stage lights are stopped, the band stops mid-song. The stage has lost power. Instead of being upset, Hales just laughs. “You know what this means? It means you’re seeing a live fucking rock show!” The crowd cheers and his band look relieved and let out held breaths. Hales is one of the best frontmen in the business, you immediately trust him. He’s disarming and funny and talented, he loves his band, he loves his crowds, he always wears fun outfits – he’s an Australian icon. He’s the perfect person to ease our minds. “I’ve always wanted to be a stand-up comedian, maybe this is my chance.” Before he can tell us a joke he spots some girls frantically waving fake candles in the crowd. “Are these candles?” he asks, he’s met with untranslatable screams, “You stole them?! Why?” The girls just shrug. “Fair enough, you look great!”. Hales then hits us with some of the worst dad-jokes you can imagine; yes, that bad. But he’s so confident with it, that we all have to laugh. He keeps the energy light. I’m standing by the tech-desk and see the chaos unfold right before me. A few men frantically pressing buttons and moving levers, seemingly to no avail. And then, like Moses parting the Red Sea, She arrives. Out of the crowd, a woman with a bleached mini mohawk, leather jacket, heeled boots steps up to the desk. I spot the lesbian-pride badge on her jacket. If I have to trust anyone to get the job done, it’s a lesbian with a buzz-cut. And within 30 seconds and barely a wiggle of a knob, we have power. She’s the underrated superstar of our evening.
“Let’s just start the next song, and you guys are gonna set the tempo. Start clapping to the same beat!” It’s been said that ‘White People Have No Rhythm’, never has that ever been truer than right now. We can’t find a beat to save ourselves. But somehow, we eventually find one, and it’s fast. The band doesn’t look perturbed at all. Drummer, Keelan Bijker (Dutch icon), picks up for us, and the band plays On Your Way Down, to a completely new tempo. Fuck me, it’s impressive. The music just flows out of them, effortlessly. This song is a personal fave, so I’m loving it. I love it so much I start a dance circle with my friend and this girl next to us. The crowd is going nuts, we are all swaying arms and reckless abandon, bathed in a sea of purple and blue.
Now, the hats, don’t worry, I didn’t forget. “I can see some of you know what The Hats are about, and for those of you who don’t let me explain,” begins Hales, “Throw those hats up on stage and we will auction them off to a charity; Support Act, it’s one primarily focused on music. If you can get your hat on my head, you get 50 free tickets to The Jungle Giants. A guy got it last night and I’m gonna call him later.” The crowd shrieks and a swarm of hats, all directly aimed at Hales’ head fly onto the stage. Someone nearly gets it, it knicks Hales in the ear. “You know what, that’s close… We’ll talk” and our frontman shoots off a finger gun to the owner of said blue bedazzled cowboy hat. Someone throws a feather boa onstage. “Oh shit! What is this? A feather boa? I’m just like Harry Styles.” Hales laughs, “I don’t know how he plays in this, so I’ll just wear it in between tracks.” And he does, for the rest of the show, while rotating through the hats so lovingly chucked at his head. Legend.
Feel The Way I Do is next. And this is where it dawns on me, I know every The Jungle Giants song. So does everybody. They have ingrained themselves into our subconscious, like U2 putting that album on everyone’s iTunes back in the day. But instead of thinking too much about why it is these guys seem like old friends, I throw my hands in the air and jump along to the silly synth beats and Andre Dooris’ unmatchable bass lines. As they swap cowboy hats, they wind through the rest of the set, each track keeping the energy high and the people overjoyed. Rakata, Monstertruck and others are all in store for us – the songs just keep coming. The Jungle Giants throw film cameras into the audience every time I’ve seen them, “Take some motherfucking pics!” is our only instruction. Our soundtrack is In Her Eyes, and soon those cameras are being thrown back onstage, stocked with photos of friends, couples, and strangers. Looking around, I see lads in bucket hats jokingly slow dancing with each other, young couples making out, and the girls behind me, fuelled on rose, screaming “Sam, you’re so SEXY!!! Sam!!!!” I’m also 99% sure recently reviewed Matt Maltese is in a booth here tonight. They finish with Trippin Up, before blowing us a kiss and walking offstage. The crowd isn’t having it, and they scream like how I’ve never heard people scream. And so, the band comes back on for their encore. Hales, somehow not out of breath, introduces us to his band. “I thought I’d lost my band, would’ve made it hard to give you one last song. But here they are: on drums, Keelan Bijker, on bass, Andrew Dooris and on lead guitar, the always sensational, Cesira Aitken.” Aitken is unassuming, as ever, acting as if it isn’t a big deal that a premiere-league Australian rock band has a female lead guitarist. She always gives a shy smile and returns her gaze to the guitar, as the crowd screams their love for her. “Let’s give a big cheer to our tech crew, say ‘Fuck yeah, Tech Crew!”
FUCK YEAH TECH CREW
Hales seems satisfied with that, “Thank you so much! This was out 17th and final show of tour, and we’ve made something special here tonight. Take all that energy you have and pour it out, leave it here, give this everything you’ve got!” Heavy Hearted is one hell of a closing number. And we get an extra-long version. Hales’ gives and gives, and so do we. It’s a battle of wills, and neither of us let that energy drop. It’s such a good song, so we clap and laugh and some of us cry. To cap off an already insane night, with a stacked setlist, the band plays us out with Used To Be In Love. It gets emotional; all of us excited for summer and romance and friends and picnics. And so, we pour all of ourselves out onto the dancefloor, strangers become friends, and The Jungle Giants become our anthem.
[Gallery] Slowly Slowly @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 26/05/2023
Slowly Slowly
Between You And Me
Clews
[Review] Slowly Slowly @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 26/05/2023
Review By Emily White
Fog, booze, and mismatched limbs filled the iconic Forum last Friday night as the homegrown rock superstars, Slowly Slowly, took to the stage. Returning less than a year after their previous headlining tour, fans gathered to celebrate the release of the band’s fourth studio album Daisy Chain. Supported by some of Australia’s best indie rock bands, it is no wonder the building was packed shoulder-to-shoulder; the perfect storm for a resurgence of some 90s style moshing.
Those who made it to the venue early were in for quite the appetiser. Australian indie rock band CLEWS opened the night gorgeously; an absolute standout being the sister duo, Lily and Grace Richardson’s dreamy harmonies. Backed by heavy drums and cleverly placed bass licks, the band boasts a vintage sound with a face of modern glamour.
Kicking off with recent single Everything Is Heavy, the group laid down their signature sound. Melodic guitar paired with angsty vocals pay homage to their early-rock influences, including The Beatles and Oasis. Being introduced as ‘the juicy heartbroken one’, Love Prank made its debut. Beginning slow and ballad-like, the track steadily builds momentum towards a highly emotive, heavily crashing bridge. Lyrically, CLEWS walks a narrow line between specific and relatable – stunning poetry written from the heart. The relationship between the sisters crafted what was an impressively personal set, capturing the unwavering attention of the audience in only a few songs. I was left pondering on the lack of blatant femininity in rock music, as CLEWS displayed what was the perfect dichotomy.
Cocky and confident; the second support of the night, Between You & Me put on what felt like a headlining show in the span of only forty minutes. The Melbourne-based indie pop-punk band resurrects the sound of the late 90s/early 2000s punk scene, whilst delivering the stage presence of an international supergroup.
‘Are you ready to fucking rock with us tonight?’, frontman Jake Wilson abruptly addressed the crowd, giving them no choice but to be obedient to his every word. From this point Between You & Me demanded to be seen – blinding strobe lights paired with heavy metal drumming and aggressive, yet superb vocals. Showcasing only a slice of their impressive discography, tracks such as Supervillain, Nevermind, and Pleased to Meet You had the venue shaking, heads banging, and bodies flying. The band has truly nailed their sound, with each song being full-bodied and layered to the brink of insanity.
It is hard not to fall in love with the image of an angsty punk band; grown out hair and low hung guitars. Between You & Me provide a relatability for their audiences, and an outlet for chaos and rage. ‘This could be the last show we ever play!’ Jake exclaimed. Possibly a slight dramatization, but this man has the rockstar persona nailed down. Making a simple gesture with his hand, the crowd surged into one synchronous pit circle before the singer threw himself from the stage; surfing over what was until now, a group of strangers. Leaving nothing but a cluster of sweaty bodies behind, The Forum was adequately prepared for Slowly Slowly to work their magic.
The room darkened as anticipation grew – silhouettes of the four band members flashed rapidly, obscured behind a thin white sheet. Familiar sounds of tuning instruments rung out through the venue. You could feel the chaos that was about to unfold. In the blink of an eye the curtain dropped – and the familiar rhythm of title track, Daisy Chain, shook the wooden floor beneath. For the next two hours there was not a second of stillness or silence as front man, Ben Stewart, took the crowd into his world.
It is not often that you get to experience the thrill of a classic live rock band. There is something so magical about the unwritten relationship between artist and audience that builds up to such chaos, and tonight was the perfect storm. Within the first five minutes, Slowly Slowly had the mosh pit in shambles, crowd surfers appearing one after another. ‘How self-indulgent to play an album in full’ Ben exclaimed… unexpectedly, Melbourne was in for a one-night-only special.
Iconic rock jams including Alchemy and Hold My Breath saw fans reciting every word. Emotionally heavy lyricism delivered in a high-energy package is a consistent theme throughout the album; and is evidently a shared outlet for both the band and avid listeners.
Throwing in a few ‘relics’ of the past, the 2015 single Empty Lungs saw the band’s fourth wall completely shatter, the frontman letting his hair down both physically and figuratively. Spitting lines with incredible speed, Achilles’ Heel dips its toes into the rap genre, a back-and-forth battle between the voices on stage and in the crowd. Moving Trains and Race Car Blues concluded the first sequence of the night, being followed by an unexpectedly dreamy piano interlude. As if the previous musically anarchy hadn’t been enough to throw the crowd off balance, Ben suddenly appeared in the centre of the venue. Confidently making his way over banisters and through the crowd he eventually found stillness, standing over one of the booths full of fans.
The gorgeous three-song hiatus from Slowly Slowly’s typical rock persona was a window into something far more personal. Suicidal Evangelist, Papier-Mâché and Medicine were performed in an acoustic style, showing vulnerability through lyrics such as, ‘I can tell you how I'm feeling, but only when I'm on stage’. Constantly checking in with the crowd, ‘are you losing focus?’, it was clear that the band were eager to return to the high-energy routine they are known for.
The night played out as one extensive, high-energy rock masterpiece – ingeniously retaining the attention of the entire sold-out venue. Reminding us that ‘we’re not gonna be back for a while’, the crowd collectively discarded any reservations, generating an impressively wild mosh pit. Classic pop-rock tune Blueprint closed out the show – but not before one final menacing stage dive.
The collective exhale of the crowd as they departed the venue was that of pure joy; ringing ears and pounding hearts remained as a reminder of the memories made. With an unbeatable stage presence and absolute raw talent, it is clear to see why Slowly Slowly has been returning to Australian stages year after year. Daisy Chain is an album so profound in its lyricism yet unhinged in its delivery. An age-old contrast proven to leave rock enthusiasts thirsting for more.