Often heading out into the night with a hangover is not the best way to prepare oneself for a gig chock full of good time pop rock in a room full of screaming girls and boys, but sometimes it has to be done. Despite being all kinds of sleepy and grumpy, it would have been difficult to miss a show billed as one of the more anticipated co headliner tours of the year.
Indeed this was the last show of said tour and it was fair to say that The Cops and Expatriate were seemingly out to get drunk, play up and have fun. Certainly they probably deserved it, having both had massive years where they managed to work their way into the hearts of the kids via hard work, touring and reasonable radio hits. But it is one thing to impress the powers that be at our national youth network, and another thing altogether to hit Melbourne on a Saturday night. In Melbourne, the punters rule and they will let you know within moments whether you and your band are going to have a good night or not. Especially if you hail from Sydney.
The Cops clearly had said crowd behind them, blasting out one quirky yet radio friendly song after the other. Tracks like ‘Respectagon’ sum The Cops up to a point. Clever, tight pop tinged with electronic noises and beeps, but grounded in solid melodies and talented musicianship. It won’t be often that you see an act like this playing twelve string acoustic guitars and making it work. Each track was greeted with a respectable roar from the crowd, and the set built in tempo throughout, peaking with hits ‘Call Me Anytime’ and ‘The Message’. Co-headliners Expatriate joined the band on stage for the former, a boozy favour that would be returned later in the night. You could not fault the enthusiasm from the band and once it was all over I was satisfied. But was that enough? The crowd enjoyed themselves, but maybe only because they recognised certain songs from the radio and danced accordingly, like saying hello to an old friend on the street you haven’t seen for years, and may never see again. Regardless, it was a solid, fun, energetic set and – in hindsight – put fellow headliners Expatriate to shame.
Melbourne can be a tough crowd, and if the well crafted pop dance rock of The Cops had moved people to well, move, then Expatriate moved them to consider leaving. Indeed the crowd thinned noticeably during their set, a fact not lost on front man Ben King. After practically every song he was asking the crowd if we were with him, he invariably received a lukewarm response. But hark was that one of the radio hits? OK, we will dance and clap at the end. Or is this the hit? OK let’s dance again, and clap again. Not sure I know this one, might head to the bar. Should we just stand up the back now and finish our beers? Sure. Hey wait where is the singer? Oh he is in the crowd, singing and dancing with them. Can’t hear anyone singing into the mike with him. How polite. Remember when the guy from Kaiser Chiefs did that? Yeah that was awesome. He barely made it back to the stage in one piece. This guy looked so tired when he asked if we were with him. Do you think there is like, a musician’s textbook chock full of ways to rev up a crowd? Has to be. Wait did he just introduce this song as one of his favourites of all time? Yeah I think it’s off of that new compilation album. What is it? Oh it’s that Everything But The Girl song. Really? No way! It sounds terrible. I used to love that song! They have somehow managed to suck all the emotion out of it. Now it’s just a slow boring sludge factory that ruins the original. F—k it. Want a beer?
Just how many times can a band ask the crowd if they are with them before it sounds like begging? How many times can they play the same song over and over again? What will happen to Expatriate when 80s indie glam pop rock is not popular any more? When the Killers continue their progression towards classic American rock storytelling, when Bloc Party turn into a jaded dance act using computers more than guitars, or when the Editors go on to rule the world. My guess is they will simply fade away, back from where they came. They hit it just at the right time they did, but now they already sound dated, slow and boring, and from their stage presence I think they know it. As for whether we are with you Ben, I have to that I for am not. Sorry. Maybe I was just too hung over.
