The Triffid, Brisbane
Friday March 10, 2017 :
We arrive at The Triffid early and I am surprised to find quite a large and eclectic crowd already milling about in the band room. I passed a group of super young dudes with long scruffy hair and wondered if they could be one of the support acts and, surprise, surprise, five minutes later those kids were onstage, introducing themselves as Concrete Surfers. Their set was short, loud, high energy and got the crowd warmed up for what was to become a night of top shelf live music.
The second act to grace the stage was Melbourne’s Yeo. I admit I went into the night not knowing who these guys were, but spent the entire set saying “Oh, yeah! I know this one”. With great energy and on stage chemistry, Yeo pulled an impressive crowd who were really getting into the funky electro pop vibes they were putting forward. Yeo, an impressive multi instrumentalist, spent the set jumping from synth to bass to keytar, while busting out some impressive vocals while drummer Andy kept the energy high with some punchy solos. Icarus was a definite standout of their set and had the kids at the front singing along, inducing big smiles from the pair.
After a short break the lights went down and the opening bars of ‘Smoke’ fill the room. As the band take their places on the risers, Harts took to the stage to mass applause from the packed crowd in the band room.
I have been lucky enough to catch Harts performing live on four occasions over the past few months, from the launch of Smoke Fire Hope Desire to the end of the tour, the band has put together a really tight show. The change in dynamic and addition of a new live bass player has taken the live experience to a whole new level.
The set kicked on with ‘Lovers In Bloom’ from 2014’s Daydreamer, and all eyes were on Harts as he struts across stage in his signature swagger, dropping to the ground to bust out the first of many killer guitar solos. He asks the crowd “are you with me?” to resounding cheers.
As a front man, Harts absolutely nails it. A born performer, full of charisma, exuding confidence and talent in spades. He commands the stage for the entire set and a quick scan of the crowd around me and it’s clear that I am not the only one completely captivated.
The band jumps into ‘Hope’, one of my favourite tracks From 2016’s Smoke Fire Hope Desire, followed by a stripped back ‘Unfamiliar’ and ‘Here I Go’, where Harts seems transported to another place, eyes closed, lost in the music, and taking us along for the ride.
‘Fear in Me’ was huge, and one of the many highlights of the set, and with a hand up to the ear, Harts gestures for the crowd to sing along, and they are more than happy to oblige much to his delight, appearing to be genuinely thrilled to have his words sung back to him. The singalong continues with ‘Peculiar’ and ‘Realize’, with the energy in the room at an all time high.
We are then taken back to Hart’s multi instrumentalist solo beginnings, with the rest of the band leaving the stage, we are treated to an amazing bass driven rendition of 2013’s ‘Vampire’.
With the band back onstage for crowd favourite ‘Breakthrough’, and an extended jam session takes place which gave me those funky, Prince-after-party vibes, giving all band members a chance to showcase their epic skills on stage, throwing in a nod to Dr Dre with a bit of ‘The Next Episode,’ and as the crowd cheered on, Hart lets them know “If you come to a Harts show, you’ve got to expect some Jammin’…”
Wrapping up the set was a killer version of Red and Blue, and my all time favourite Tide, with those falsetto vocals and the most epic of guitar solos, with Hart throwing his guitar behind his head and playing it backwards, turning around to show off his skills as his fingers glide effortlessly along the fretboard, to a roaring applause of the crowd.
The much anticipated encore kicked off with the Madhouse inspired Jazz Funk of ‘Fire’.The funk then continued with a powerful performance of ‘All Rise’, and ‘Ain’t Too Far Gone’, and some inspiring words from Harts, encouraging us all to love one another and lift each other up in these uncertain times.
The night wraps up with ‘Power’, and Harts thanking his fans for the support and promising not to forget us when he’s big… After throwing his guitar into the air and walking off stage, I am sure we wont forget him anytime soon either.
Reviewer and Photographer : Chrissy Kavalieros
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