Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Saturday July 12, 2014 :
Something for Kate’s gig at the Enmore last night was one for the history books. The night started out with a short film chronicling the band’s 20-year career, which really hit up the nostalgia for the already excited crowd. By the time Paul Dempsey, Clint Hyndman and Stephanie Ashcroft made their way onto the stage, the mood was already set for a pretty golden night.
The gig was a trip down memory lane, starting with a couple of songs from their very first EP, even predating Ashcroft’s presence in the band, and then moving back and forth through theirsix studio albums and a bunch of the band’s B sides. The first half of the gig moved primarily through the band’s earlier material, with massive hits like ‘Beautiful Sharks’ and ‘Max Planck’ giving the crowd a real nostalgia trip. After a short intermission, the second set started out with Dempsey giving a solo rendition of ‘Back to You’ on keyboard, before being joined onstage by Sarah Blasko for ‘Deep Sea Divers’, a track from their most recent album Leave Your Soul to Science. The range of tracks over the course of the night really showed just how extensive the band’s back catalogue is, and the length of the gig overall (around 3 hours including the film) gave the band an opportunity to play their favourites as well as the crowd’s.
The band seemed to be truly enjoying themselves, working together like a well-oiled machine, and clearly having a trip down memory lane themselves. Before heading into ‘Anchorman’ towards the end of the second set, the crowd sang Happy Birthday to the band, with Paul responding “we’re looking forward to the next 20 years”.
The night ended on a high, with an encore of ‘Captain (Million Miles An Hour)’ and ‘Pinstripe’, and the band hanging around after the gig to meet their fans. All in all, a top night, and a band that just keeps getting better (and each member more attractive) as the years pass.
Reviewer: Louisa Bulley
Photographer: David Youdell
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