Snow Patrol + SilversunPickups + Ian Archer @ AcerArena, Sydney, (07/09/07)

Tue 11th Sep, 2007 in Gig Reviews

From supporting Keane at a club show to the main stage at Splendour in the Grass, from selling out the Hordern Pavilion to now having conquered Acer Arena, Snow Patrol have been noticeably moving up in this country. Currently touring Australia for what is to be the last leg of their – œEyes Open’ tour, the Irish lads were as excitable as ever. This being their third visit to our shores since the release of their latest and most acclaimed album – Eyes Open, it was difficult to imagine the band would be able to innovate on what is becoming worn-out material. Though the 12 000 odd crowd were more than satisfied with tonight’s powerful performance.

Sydney Olympic Park seemed like a ghost town on what was a wet and miserable Friday evening. Handfuls of punters were emerging from the train station and car-parks and slowly migrating towards the venue to escape the bitter cold. Inside the brightly lit Acer Arena it was a different story altogether. Bustling with fans, it was a lengthy wait at the merchandise stand and bars.

Maneuvering our way onto the floor to catch the final seconds of Ian Archer’s (a former member of Snow Patrol) set, judging by the crowd’s response it went down a treat.

The Silversun Pickups provided an energetic set that would set the general mood for the evening. Managing to hold the crowd despite the frequent power failures shows the band’s flexibility on stage. The final song of their set Lazy Eye is currently receiving a healthy dose of radio play across the Triple J network.

The house-lights dimmed just on a quarter past nine for the main attraction, the word – œNOW’ appearing on the video screens in large white letters, and on they strolled to rapturous applause. Launching straight into Hands Open, not a beat was missed. The dominating visuals and frantic lighting display showed that Snow Patrol had an entirely new stage show to match the larger venues they are now playing. Having taken inspiration away from the time that they spent supporting U2, it was clear that the band had put a lot of effort into developing their live performances, especially the sensory aspect. Crowd interaction and participation is an obvious factor in the success of their live shows. When front-man Gary Lightbody wasn’t complimenting Australians for their physical fitness, he was praising his favourite Aussie artists – Josh Pyke and Howling Bells.

In what was a crowd pleasing set, Chocolate, Run and Spitting Games were just a sample of tunes tonight representing the 2003 release – Final Straw. The Finish Line provided a deeper moment in tonight’s performance, while a fairly unknown Aussie songstress by the name of Laura G accompanied Lightbody on the dark and melodic track Set the Fire to the Third Bar.

Leaving the stage only to return moments later after the short message, – œmothers and fathers of the world please be patient with your children’, the boys belted out a high-paced encore capping it all off with the radio friendly You Are All I Have. This is a band at their prime, this is Snow Patrol.