Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Thursday March 7, 2013 :
It’s mighty rare for a band to be able to live up to its name, mostly because it wouldn’t make any sense as a statement for most bands, i.e. Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, etc. This just isn’t a problem for fun. I was pretty sceptical about fun. on the way to their gig at the Enmore last Thursday night, but I hoped at least for a good time, and that’s what I got.
They came on early to an excited crowd, kicking off the gig with ‘Out On The Town’, with Natue Ruess proving right from the start that he knows how to rile up his audience. The band were a well-oiled machine throughout, pumping out their heavy beats and what must be some truly Queen-influenced tunes. Fun. clearly stick to a formula in a lot of their music, favouring a slow-down mid-song before breaking into one last dancey chorus, but it’s a formula that works, both for them and their audience.
The crowd, which was a strange mix of young and old, didn’t stop going absolutely mental all night, with Ruess encouraging them to clap and sing along in all of their favourites, continually telling them what a “fuckin’ awesome crowd” they were.
The whole band seemed to have a boundless amount of energy, and all appeared to be having a devoted love affair with one another. Their harmonies held up live, and Ruess’ vocals were outstanding all night, with the timbre of his voice somewhere very close to Don McLean with some obvious Freddie Mercury leanings thrown in. Every member of the band seemed to have a spare keyboard that they broke out at different times during the night, and while Ruess was clearly the crowd’s darling, every other member of the band seemed to get a chance to shine too.
A sea of smartphones emerged to record ‘We Are Young,’ and nobody stopped dancing until it was clear that the band were finished at the end of their encore. Ruess finished with a “we’ve gotta end at some point, right?” to yells of “nooooo” from the audience, before signing off with “you guys are fuckin’ amazing, thank you Sydney, good night.”
Reviewer: Louisa Bulley
Photographer: Jessica Ward
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