Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Saturday 21 April, 2018 :
The iconic Enmore Theatre in Newtown was abuzz with excitement for one of the first Ocean Alley shows, from a jam-packed schedule running through to July when they play the Splendour in the Grass festival. The largely under 25 crowd – including plenty of U-18s for this totally sold out, all-ages gig – was positively buzzing with excitement for the six boys from Sydney’s northern beaches.
When the long-haired chilled out superstars entered the stage, the venue reached fever pitch, with a packed-in crowd of squealing girls and amped-up boys set to experience what was a generous set of 20 songs. Baden Donegal was resplendent in shiny red western shirt and long dreads swaying from the opening track ‘Corduroy’. Ocean Alley have nailed a smooth blend of psychedelic rock with indie surf band – a combination that worked beautifully to showcase their new album Chiaroscuro.
Song two ‘Comedown’ had the place in a massive singalong with plenty of punters already up on friends’ shoulders. Looking up to the balcony area there was a mix of exuberant fans and watchful parents keeping an eye on the progress of the evening. When Baden announced the show was being recorded for Triple J’s Live at the Wireless the volume in the place was nothing short of deafening.
Track three ‘Hold On’ pumped a swaying reggae vibe giving us a focus on the keyboardist (also backup vocals), bass and drummer. By mid-set the hugely popular ‘Mellow Yellow’ had the crowd singing every word and totally mesmerised – but as I went out to get some water the opening lyrics, “She’s been running riot“, had a too-true ring for several young punters who had gone too hard too early and were taking stock in the foyer. Enter again just in time to see a young guy carry out a stage-invasion and avoid security by stage-diving into the crowd – it was rather hilarious and good to see they didn’t throw him out! (Mind you he was a serial pest and tried again later – kind of pushed the limits but oh well – band was completely unfazed)
Next song up ‘Partner in Crime’ featured a guest saxophone player – a smooth addition to Baden’s husky tones and the silky, layered guitar work of Mitch and Lach – all set perfectly amid the smoke-machine induced haze. ‘Overgrown’ and ‘Frostbite’ brought a slightly rockier vibe, then the band left the stage for just Baden and his guitar to bring the mood down to a quieter level with a solo rendition of ‘Man you were looking for’.
The band returned to stage to bring the gig home with some psychedelic rock playing homage to their influences with ‘Fly on the Wall’, and the groovy & danceable ‘Bones’. Then ‘Lemonworld’ built the mood up nicely for huge hit ‘Confidence’ where Baden ditches the guitar and gets to move around the stage – by this point the entire place including top tier were on their feet dancing and pretty much every phone in the place was filming: The singalong level definitely hit 11 out of 10!
The boys left the stage and returned for two encore songs – ‘Rage’ and ‘Happy Sad’ and finished the whole thing off with an explosion of glitter from a side-of-stage cannon. Can’t really ask for more, can you?
Reviewer : Caitlin Martin
Photographer : Joshua South
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