The Tivoli, Brisbane
Thursday March 1, 2018 :
The Libertines have been one of the few bands that has been on my gig wish list for as long as I can remember. When the opportunity arose to photograph them on the Brisbane leg of their very first Australian tour, I jumped at the chance to catch them live.
We arrived at the Tivoli to a full house and within moments I realised I was surrounded by every British expat currently living in Brisbane. The words “Why Aye!” were enthusiastically yelled out from the crowd on more than one occasion, and many a punter clad in black skinny jeans, boots and dapper hats, left me feeling the vibes of an early naughties London.
Before we knew it the place is buzzing as The Libertines take to the stage and launch straight into ‘Horrow Show’. With focus purely on Pete Doherty while the rest of the band hung back in the shadows, it was clear the man the crowd were here to see was most definitely putting on a show. A little rough around the edges, yes, but still killing it. Then out of the shadows emerges Carl Barât, full of swagger, his name scrawled in gold over the back of his leather jacket, and that voice of his sending goosebumps down my arms.
Pete and Carl are obviously incredibly close, with their heads constantly together, chatting amongst themselves, and Carl seemingly keeping Pete on top of the job at hand as he tends to lose focus and wanders off from time to time.
The first half of their set was heavy with tracks from their 2015 album, Anthems For A Doomed Youth, including ‘Barbarians,’ ‘Fame and Fortune,’ ‘Heart of the Matter,’ ‘Milkman’s Horse’ and ‘Gunga Din,’ and absolutely peaked with Carl jumping on the keyboard and Pete leading a singalong to ‘You’re My Waterloo’. The band then launched into a few tracks from their 2004 self titled album, including my favourites, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now,’ followed by ‘What Katie Did,’ which had the entire audience singing “Since you said goodbye, Polka dots filled my eyes and I don’t know whyyyyyyyyy…” It was truly a great moment. Winding things down with a cover of Harry Nilsson’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ had the crowd swaying from side to side, and then they launched into ‘Death on The Stairs’, ‘Vertigo’ and wrapping up their set with ‘The Good Ole Days’ from their 2002 offering, Up The Brackett.
After a quick break the band returned for an epic encore of seven songs, including ‘Music for When The Lights Go Out,’ ‘Time For Hero’s’ and the ever fantastic ‘What A Waster,’ which brought the crowd up to an entirely different level, with a mosh pit forming, crowd surfing and guys rushing the stage when security weren’t looking, getting in plenty of hugs and high fives from the band. The Brits are definitely loose, and definitely here for a good time. The night wrapped up with ‘Don’t look Back Into The Sun,’ ‘I Get Along’ and a lovely cover of ‘Dream A Little Dream of Me’.
After waiting the better part of two decades to finally see Carl and Pete and their onstage antics play out live in person I can honestly say that, although I wish I had been able to catch them during their glory days in the early 2000’s that they were most definitely worth the wait.
Reviewer + Photographer : Chrissy Kavalieros
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