For the amount of noise made about Gomez not including Adelaide on the initial run of dates anyone would have thought that punters would have repaid the favour turning out in droves. Sadly, a half filled venue was the result, which is a real shame because they missed a cracking show. Hard to narrow down why this is the case but nevertheless The Quinceanera (‘One who is fifteen’) tour was all about repaying the fans for supporting the Southport indie rockers over the journey.

Fans had the opportunity to choose the set list Gomez would play by visiting the online home for the band, click the Adelaide link and then request the set list by choosing the top five Gomez songs they wanted to hear the most, which also revealed some interesting choices.

As far as live bands go Gomez are up there with the best of them proving to be one of the most versatile bands with members swapping between instruments with ease, giving them plenty of creative options. It was a tradesman’s like effort delivering what they needed to but they could have put more of themselves in to the performance given the adulation was there from the fans.

Opening with back to back hits from the career shaping album Liquid Skin, it was Revolutionary Kind and Las Vegas Dealer that got the crowd excited. I Will Take You There followed then Tom Gray asked the crowd who voted asking for a show of hands. Interestingly, Notice was in the top ten for the first time prompting a “well done Adelaide.”

There are obvious and necessary staples in the Gomez set list and if any songs from Bring It On and Liquid Skin are played you pretty much can’t go wrong. Get Myself Arrested and Rhythm & Blues Alibi are just as great now as they were when they played Thebarton Theatre for the first time way back when. Airstream Driver went down well before going back in time giving Tijuana Lady and Bring It On a dust off, then back to another top ten vote with Our Goodbye getting the nod.

Tom Gray who seemed like the official spokesman for the band announced “this is the left turn you weren’t expecting” before the beats of Machismo. Holy Moses! I haven’t heard this one for a while with the To, echoing the same sentiment. Another unexpected top ten was Bring Your Lovin’ Back Here which brought the house down followed by Ruff Stuff and Ping One Down.

Whippin’ Piccadilly kept the good time vibe going and it’s hardly a Gomez set without this one. The fans know the words and the band must relish the energy from the crowd with this one. It all boiled down to the closer How We Operate and it was hard to decide if the band were just hitting their peak or whether they had given the fans just enough to leave them wanting more.

Returning for an encore it was Options up first. The comment “We’ve been together for 16 years! So much so, that we are doing our 15 year anniversary tour a year late” seemed odd as it felt like they were only here a year or so ago. Get Miles was the perfect closer as it was the first song they ever wrote and the crowd were really in to this one. It was a shame a packed house wasn’t on hand to see this one and we can only hope it doesn’t dampen the prospect of a return visit next time. 

Review by Rob Lyon

Joining us on the Australian leg of their Meanest Hits tour, New Zealand four-piece, Shihad may have scaled back the grunge rocker look of idolised bands like The Cure and Metallica in their early years, but are still every inch the lean, mean fighting machine that rocketed them into the national spotlight, bringing the energy in literal leaps and bounds cross-country to celebrate the release of their dual disc greatest hits. The result? A reflective kickback to the good ol’ days of rock and roll gigs, where the beer on tap was cheap, the weather was fine and the crowd, together with a night full of tracks from a solid career of creativity – well, they just kept coming back for more.

Sole openers for the Adelaide show, Money for Rope took it all in their stride, eager to throw their young vigour into the crowd – and with all six members packed onto the stage, two behind impressively equipped drum kits, it had to go somewhere! Wasting no time, they launched into a melodic catalogue of songs from their two years of jamming and gigging together, hooking punters in with haunting vocals before boxing them around the ears with unrelenting drumbeats and riffs, coercing them back with a rebellious display of jazz saxophone. This soulful Victorian outfit, a hybrid of colour, style and smarts – both in dress sense and on stage attitude, needs no explanation. With a debut album in vinyl due for release next month, together with the promise of a second Adelaide gig to chalk up on a growing list of places to visit, their set was a treat to watch and listen to, leaving many of us locals hoping it would indeed not be long before they ‘sailed past our house[s]’ again.

Shihad’s reputation for giving as good as they get precedes them. No sooner had Money for Rope given up the stage for the headliners than punters seized the opportunity they’d all been waiting for, taking up the chant of the band’s controversial, but household name until the band themselves were front and centre with roars of approval and cheers enough to make their frontman, Toogood pause for a moment before giving a nod to the nostalgia everyone felt. The promise of a set that went through from the start of their career some twenty years ago, all the way through almost seemed too much, and dare we say too good for Toogood to make, but in true Shihad fashion, they stayed true to their word and belted out fan favourites like It, Comfort Me, The General Electric and Home Again to the unwavering attention of punters both young and old.

By the time the year 1995 was reached with songs Deb’s Night Out, Bitter and You Again off the highly-regarded album, Killjoy, there was not a still body in sight, fans two-stepping, headbanging and hip swaying amongst one another. Not be outdone, Toogood unleashed the wild streak that first won him a permanent spot in many hearts, tearing off the stage to hammer out a final chorus from the bar with some would-be fellow musicians strumming along for good measure, earning himself pats on the back and a few kisses on the cheek for his troubles. Taking a decidedly more chilled out approach to the final stint of their set with Brightest Star and My Mind’s Sedate, Shihad wound down for the night in a harmonious chorus with their fans, extending to an encore of Run before their final departure from the stage to the thunderous sound of applause, and memories of a night well played. 

Review by Rebecca Grant
Photos by Melissa Donato. See the full gallery here

The Gov was in cabaret mode for Clare Bowditch filling out the venue with tables and chairs to make it look like there were more people there than there actually was. It was a disappointing turn out really given the profile of Bowditch being elevated by her guest role on Channel 10’s Offspring and with her new album The Winter I Choose Happiness charting at number eleven on the ARIA Chart, it begs the question – where were you Adelaide?

Opening with Amazing Life solo, a song Bowditch started when she was nineteen and only completed a few months ago which was described as a “trying time”. Right from the get go Bowditch’s charm and warm demeanour wins the crowd over and the live experience is very much about the banter and the stories that hide behind the music that the crowd wants to hear.

When The Lights Went Down went down a treat making for one of the more poppy moments in her set before giving A Lucky Life a dust off. The One according to Bowditch requires a little less lighting, a little less heat and perhaps a cupboard to hide in as she sings it because she never thought of herself as an actor. The microphone drama creates an awkward moment and the response “I didn’t even know I could dance like that” and as a replacement mic is found she calls it “a panic dance”.

Tim Harvey complements Bowditch well on vocals on new album shiner The Big Happy and the lads from The Royal Jelly Dixieland Band lend a hand on brass on the Start Of war. With her band taking a brief smoko Bowditch goes solo again with Your Love Walks With Me dedicated to room full of incredibly good looking people. The album written with the likes of Wally De Backer (Gotye) it became apparent to Bowditch as she describes that after writing about grief, suffering, addiction and lust that all that was left was happiness – dear god, is there anything? Aren’t we meant to suffer as artists?

A good chunk of the set was steered towards the new album with the likes of Cocky Lady and One Little River getting an airing. For a career spanning five albums I was expecting a few more of the “hits” from back catalogue considering the show went for only an hour and a quarter. Nevertheless, quality over quantity and few would have been disappointed.

Returning for an encore, Bowditch asked the question “who has a crush on Eddie Perfect” before wrapping it up with You Make Me Happy which should continue giving her attention for a little while longer. A couple more would have been nice at this point, but with the lure of an autograph and the chance to meet Bowditch it seemed a good thing, leaving  the crowd forming a queue and pondering previous performances and what songs should have been given a going over.


Review by Rob Lyon
Photo by Supernova Photographics. Check out the gallery here.