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Gig ReviewsReviews

[Review] The Tea Party – Enmore Theatre, Sydney 21/06/2024

Enmore Theatre in Sydney was buzzing with excitement as The Tea Party arrived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their album TRIPtych. The gentlemen from Windsor, Ontario, swiftly reminding everyone why they’ve remained a staple in the rock scene for so long and why Australia has an ever-growing affinity for their self proclaimed ‘Morrocan-roll’.

The packed show kicked off with The Halcyon Days, instantly pulling the crowd into a nostalgic trance. Jeff Martin, with his signature charisma, greeted us, “It’s been a long time between drinks, Sydney, and we have a lot to catch up on, but for now, let’s just play some rock and roll.”.

From the moment they launched into The Bazaar, the crowd was hooked. The seamless blend of Underground with Lou Reed’s Walk on The Wild Side put a lot of smiles on dials, showing off the band’s knack for mixing things up. A personal highlight was when Martin paid homage to Jeff Buckley with Last Goodbye before diving into The Messenger, a touching highlight that left us in awe. I am consistently blown away by the similarity of their live performance to recorded. A friend informed me after the show that the band refuses to practice; they just come out of the gate and play a show like this! Wow!

The middle of the set saw The Tea Party delivering intense performances of Gone and These Living Arms, while the medley of Save Me and Samsara mesmerized. And who could forget the mash-up of Heaven Coming Down and U2‘s With or Without You? The transition was much better received than in earlier performances, which had split fans down the middle and were heckled by some. This time, however, most fans sang along and enjoyed the moment.

Jeff Martin made reference to how talkative he can be at shows and joked that he was called out in a recent review about it. The fans quite obviously love it, as he is met with chants of support ‘speak up Jeff!’. Perhaps this comment got into his head, because if you didn’t know in advance, you would never know it was an anniversary tour as there was very little mention of the TRIPtych album itself. It’s especially odd considering this anniversary tactic has been the basis of their tours for the past half-decade, likely due to the lack of new albums.

While tracks from TRIPtych were performed, parts of the album were cut in favor of usual crowd-pleasing classics, it was a slight shame not to hear the full album. Similarly, fans of the band’s 2004 album Seven Circles, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, were left begging for a track or two.

Temptation wrapped up the main set with a burst of energy, Martin giving the audience a chance to take over vocals for a moment, before leaving the crowd hungry for more. The encore was pure magic. Kicking off with Winter Solstice on the actual winter solstice date was a perfect touch. But the real showstopper was Sister Awake, which they blended with covers of The Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black and David Bowie’s Heroes. It was a powerful finale that had the entire theatre on their feet, singing along.

With only two shows left on this tour—June 23 in Thirroul and a sold-out performance at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on June 25—the opportunities to see The Tea Party on this run are dwindling.

Tonight’s performance at the Enmore Theatre was more than just a concert; it felt like a reunion with old friends. The band took us on a journey through their hits, mixing in surprises that kept the night exciting and memorable. As the final notes rang out and the lights came up, it was clear that The Tea Party still holds a special place in the hearts of their Aussie fans, old and new.

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[Review] Rise Against @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney 05/02/2024

Monday the 5th of February brought Sydney sweaty record breaking humidity and Chicago based rock band Rise Against playing at Sydney’s intimate Enmore Theatre. On their 25th year together, Rise Against are celebrating the occasion by joining Blink-182 on their Australian and New Zealand tour, but not before treating fans to a few special solo shows. One in Melbourne and one in Sydney.

The band, which was formed in 1999 and went by the name Transistor Revolt for a year before settling on Rise Against, which they have stuck with since then. The band is made up of Tim McIlrath on vocals and rhythm guitar, Zach Blair as lead guitarist, Joe Principe on bass, and Brandon Barnes on drums. They are well known for aggressive and catchy hooks, as well as their outspoken lyrics on social issues such as animal rights, political injustice and environmentalism. 


Setting the tone for the night was Redfern based punk rock band, Beerwolf. With a very similar sound to Rise Against, they were the perfect choice as opener for the night. The band chatted with the crowd between songs, and at 8:30pm the band played their last song for the night and cleared the stage. 

Sound checks were carried out and finally the lights went dark. As the band took the stage of the Enmore Theatre, I imagine they were reminded of the last time they walked out on the same stage on March 9th, 15 years earlier.

As the air conditioning of the intimate Theatre strains itself, the distinctive chord progression of Prayer of the Refugee begins to play and the crowd recognises it, pushing forward towards the stage. Rise Against absolutely fills the venue with their energy right from the start, an unmistakable characteristic of a Rise Against show. 

What follows is truly a set list for the fans. An ode to the early years of band. Taking the audience back through history, starting in 2003 with Like The Angel from their album Revolutions Per Minute and unraveling the set with some of the biggest hits from their early albums.

The set list featured the most tracks from the albums The Sufferer & the Witness and Appeal to Reason, such as Re-Education (Through Labor), Ready to Fall, Survive, The Good Left Undone and The Audience of One

The set also included the tracks Satellite and Make it Stop (September’s Children) from their 2011 album Endgame and was only sprinkled with tracks from 2017 onwards with the only tracks making an appearance being The Violence from their album Wolves and Nowhere Generation from their newest album of the same name. 

There were more than a few stand out parts of the night. One being the acoustic set before the encore. The first track Hero Of War was a treat only for Sydney, having been left off the setlist the night before in Melbourne. Following up with Swing Life Away, McIlrath dedicated the track to his late friend Chris Cornell, former member of Soundgarden and Audioslave. McIlrath seemingly takes a moment to reflect, speaking with the crowd about doing what you want to do today, in case tomorrow doesn’t come. 

The other absolute stand out moment of the night was the song Give It All. The energy put out by the band to the audience was reflected right back by the crowd. For the first time McIlrath was down off the stage, standing on the barricades and singing quite appropriately ‘I give it all

Now there’s a reason why I sing

So give it all

And it’s these reasons that belong to me’.

The mosh pit holds the energy after that for the last two songs, as the band close the set with one of their most well known songs, Savior

Even after being together for 25 years, Rise Against are still complete Punk-Rock powerhouses. It’s obvious that their passion for the music and the message are what keeps them releasing music and touring, with such intensity and vigor for so many years.

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[Review] The DMA’s @ The Enmore Theatre 14/10/2023

Australian rock trio DMA’s brought their unique blend of aussie soft rock and alt-pop to the stage at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on Saturday night.

Formed in 2012, the band is composed of lead vocalist Tommy O’Dell, lead guitarist Matt Mason and rhythm guitarist Johnny Took. 11 years on, they are touring around Australia, stopping in for 2 hometown shows at the historic Enmore Theatre.

The night was opened by Fazerdaze, a Kiwi singer, songwriter and producer who was formerly part of Fremantle’s Indie-Rock band Spacey Jane, whose creative combination of alternative pop-grunge was just the warm up the crowd needed.

Before the band even steps out on stage, you feel the energy begin to mount. The feeling in the room is so unique to Enmore Theatre. With the high ceilings, the space is intimate without the claustrophobic feeling other venues can sometimes have, giving the room space for palpable excitement.

Finally, the boys appear on stage in their usual laid back attire, t-shirts, flannel shirts, jeans and sneakers. Something you would expect your brother to wear. And the crowd loves it.

The band opens the set with How Many Dreams, the second track of their latest album of the same name. Just like the song, the tension builds from the start and by the end of the song you can tell it’s going to be a special night.

The third song on the setlist, Silver, is one of the stand out performances of the night. The song begins softly and gently, by the end completely devolving into beautiful disarray. The opening guitar strum accompanied by the lyrics, ‘Did you feel like heaven’ puts the crowd on their toes. As the beat kicks in, it’s easy to see how listeners have drawn comparisons between 3 boys from Sydney and internationally renowned band Oasis.
The performance put into the music by the band is one that can sometimes be lacking in this genre of music. It feels like O’Dell takes the crowd under his wing, leading them into the chorus, inviting them to sing with him. This track seems to visibly connect each band member, while empty cans fly through the air and the whole crowd jumps in unison, singing ‘How do I redefine all my love for you?’.

Songs from their latest album are littered through the set, including Olympia, Something We Are Overcoming and Fading Like A Picture. But of course another huge moment of the night is when fellow Sydney boy, now international sensation Ruel, joins the stage to test out a work in progress unreleased track. Delighting fans was the way O’Dell’s vocals melted seamlessly with Ruel’s silky falsetto.

Not to be overshadowed by a night of big moments, was the band’s infamous cover of Cher’s Believe. Appearing first on Triple J’s Like A Version in 2017, the track has 12 million views on Youtube and couldn’t possibly be left out of the setlist. While the crowd sways and sings along, it’s clear that the live version is just as capable of giving goosebumps.

The band finishes their set with Feels like 37, a track from their 2014 self-titled EP, only to be cheered back on for an encore. The set of 3 tracks starts slow with In The Air, a song from their album For Now, and finds its faster tempo with their popular track Lay Down from their 2016 album Hills End. The band closes out the show with Everybody’s Saying Thursday’s The Weekend, a track from their latest album. The crowd sings ‘Everybody’s saying Thursday’s the weekend, Cold calamities from over-speaking’ while they dance to the catchy beat, seemingly aware that this song will sadly be the show’s last.

For some reason this concert made me consider just how important live music still is, even just on a human level. With the progression of social media and the internet, communication between musicians and fans has never been so open and available. A musician’s popularity isn’t as focused on music sales, and is based more heavily on Instagram followers. We now have visible markers to see their popularity go up or down. But what feeling could ever be as wonderful, or as validating as a musician, as seeing a crowd of 1600 people jumping to the beat of your music and screaming your own lyrics back at you. By nature, live music, especially that of the caliber displayed by DMA’s, will never lose its magic.

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[Review] Empire Of The Sun @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney 21/02/2023

As the afternoon sun drew behind the clouds and the heavy rain beat down on the street, the doors to the historic Enmore Theatre were opened for the first of two sold out Empire of the Sun Sydney shows. 

It’s been 5 years since the Australian band, fronted by Luke Steele, performed on home soil, so you couldn’t help but feel like this was a special occasion. 

As the crowd filed into the venue, it was glaringly obvious that Empire of the Sun had not only retained fans from their inception, but had gained fans throughout the years, some of which were probably only babies when Walking on a Dream was first released. Even though EOTS released their first album in 2008, the crowd was brimming with punters of all ages.   

As soon as the show begins, it’s not hard to see why the band has held such a wide audience captive for so many years. From the very start, the energy was high octane. Electricity fills the air as the lights finally go down and other worldly visuals appear on the back screen.  As the music begins, the backup dancers walk across the stage, their silhouettes showing off the shape of their costumes, of which could be straight out of a science fiction movie.

Finally, Steele, recognisable from just his silhouette, makes his way to centre stage with his guitar slung casually over his shoulder. Drummer Olly Peacock and guitarist Ian Ball join Steele on stage and moving in unison to the beat with the dancers, they open the show with Standing On The Shore, a synthy hit from their first album. Not quite recognisable at first, the beat kicks in and familiarity washes over the crowd, giving them a taste of what’s to come over the next hour. While Steele remains the main character of the show, Peacock and Ball add stylistic flourishes to the music that would be vacant without them. 

The set list is a healthy variety of the band’s discography, including one of Steele’s solo projects Listen To The Water, a song he tells the crowd he wrote while he and his family were staying in a log cabin in California during the Covid pandemic. Steele occasionally stops the show to talk to the crowd, mentioning the pandemic a few times, mostly to point out how much he’d missed Australia and playing music to a live crowd. He stated that in the height of the pandemic, he’d promised his kids they were going to get back to Australia. Luckily for EOTS fans, this was a promise he kept! 

The band’s biggest hits are sprinkled through the set list, the first coming 5 songs in. We Are The People starts and the crowd roars. There are people all over the mosh climbing on their friends’ shoulders, while the entire crowd jumps to the beat. 

Coming in third last, I was disappointed when Walking On A Dream started to play, knowing it wouldn’t be the song to close out the show. The whole package of music and visual elements coming together and the vibe emanating off the crowd really felt like a finale.

When the real finale of the show starts and the discernible sound of Alive starts to play, the electricity of the crowd is palpable. I rejoice in being proven wrong in thinking I knew what song should close out the show. The bass thumps through everyone and the chorus kicks in, Loving every minute ’cause you make me feel so alive. The crowd knows every word and they sing it back to Steele while he runs wildly around the stage, giving us every last bit of himself.

The common thread throughout the whole show can only be described as quintessential Empire of the Sun. Every facet of the show is littered with elements of the band’s personality. From the various costume changes to the glittering lights and visuals that could have easily passed as a standalone show. This wasn’t just a display of the band’s musical talent, but a clear exhibition of their creativity and an example of what a very specific vision looks like when it comes to life. We can only hope that this is only the start of a new chapter for Empire Of The Sun.

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The Black Crowes @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney 13/11/2022

To say I was a little excited for tonight’s proceedings would certainly be an understatement. Not only have I been a huge fan of hard blues rockers from Georgia since they first formed, but I have always regarded the bands 1990 debut album Shake Your Money Maker as one of my all-time favourite albums, so to hear this gem played in its entirety was something I had been looking forward to witnessing the moment Live Nation announced this tour months ago. I arrived at the venue early to find a large number of fans had the same idea… As the show last night was not only the first on the bands national run, but it was also Sold-out and diehards were there early to make sure they secured the best spots to witness the magic that is a Black Crowes Live Concert experience.

With only minutes left to spare before the show kicked off there was barely standing room left inside the venue and as the lights went down the crowd went wild…. Hitting the stage one at a time and leading the charge was guitarist Rich Robinson who returned to the band in 2019 after a four year absence, next up strutting his stuff across the stage floor was the all rockin ever so charismatic front-man Chris Robinson who you could tell was all revved up and ready to rock. The group which also consists of bassist Sven Pipien; guitarist Isaiah Mitchell best known for his work with San Diego Psychedelic rockers Earthless, drummer Brian Griffin and keyboardist Joel Robinow made for the perfect line-up to present such an iconic album.

The band opened with the killer opening album track Twice as Hard and it was clear instantly that this show was going to be unlike anything I had seen this band do before. Rolling through the album tracks as they play out… Jealous Again, Sister Luck, Could I’ve Been so Blind both the band and crowds sprits were high. Chris worked the stage like to true professional he is.. with more struts than Jagger and rock n’ roll charisma millions would kill to have, Robison performed tonight better than any show I have witnessed in previous years. The band were having a great time onstage, plenty of smiles and laughs and the music…. Well… that’s what it’s all about and on that front the Black Crowes delivered in spades! I must also give props to the backing vocalists onstage with the band, these girls are truly incredible and shine through on gems such as Remedy and Seeing Things which is a personal favourite.

It was clear that the crowd favourites were the smash hits from the debut album She Talks to Angels and the crowd pleasing Hard to Handle, and I must admit witnessing and being part of the sold-out crowd that was singing along to this one was pretty amazing. Thick and Thin, Struttin Blues and the opening album track were among some of my highlights from last night’s show. It is quite hard to pinpoint just one favourite song or moment when the band is on fire the moment, they walk out onstage delivering what I would consider to be an ultimate fan set-list. Outside of playing every track from Shake your Money Maker the band also pulled out some killer tracks that spanned the bands career including By your Side, Thorn in my Pride and Wiser Time to name a few.

The band who are set to perform a second show tonight in Sydney and are going around the country over coming days will no doubt have every punter leaving these shows with a smile on their face and wanting more… The sound was incredible lights beautiful and the entire concert experience just perfect!

If you have a chance to get along to any of these shows do so. Music lovers across Australia will be speaking about these shows for years to come… do not miss this magical rock n roll experience!

More chances to catch THE BLACK CROWES including tonight back at the ENMORE THATRE in Sydney. 

ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY                    MONDAY NOVEMBER 14*

FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL, BRISBANE      WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16* SOLD OUT

FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL, BRISBANE      THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17* NEW SHOW

HARVEST ROCK, ADELAIDE                      SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19

PALACE FORESHORE, MELBOURNE       SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20**

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

 

For complete tour and ticket information, visit: livenation.com.au or blackcrowes.com

 

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