Surprisingly Stage 88 didn’t seem quite as full as it could have been, maybe due to the time of the year coinciding with the Big Day Out festivities. However, dedicated fans crowded down the front to experience a great line-up of Aussie acts. The crowd was a diverse one, it was an all ages event so there were even a few families with picnic rugs educating their little ones in a good taste in music.
Kicking off the evening was one man band Ash Grunwald. He was so loud and full of sound, with his bass thumping strongly, that he could be heard as you were walking over the bridge on the way to the concert. *Ash*’s impressive set—up included a driving digital kick bass drum which set the crowd dancing straight away. His powering voice with a little distortion added a nice old radio-type flavour soaring over his slide guitar rhythms and riffs.
The Beautiful Girls opened with Royalty, a strong start from their latest album. While some may have been expecting some of their older hits and favourites, the group sticked to playing their newer stuff.
A crowd and current Triple J radio-favourite In love moved the fans into a head bopping frenzy, leaving them wanting more of their older stuff. However, their new stuff still contained their signature cool rhythms and riffs. Towards the end of their set, the crowd was gathering towards the front in anticipation for The Cat Empire.
With anticipation building for The Cat Empire to grace the stage, some James Brown was blasted over the PA winding up the crowd, continuing on with an unexpected live earthy string quartet leading the band in who played on during the night, enhancing The Cat Empire’s already mixed-bag of sound. As the boys stepped onto the stage, the crowd swelled with excitement and applause as they played a sweet version of So Many Nights.
Their set felt like one gigantic carnival street party with 12 band members, creating a massive sound that was sure to have people dancing on the other side of Civic. Each instrument was featured equally throughout the night including dueling horn sections, keys and drum battles, electric and double bass, electronic and percussive scratching from Jamshid Khadiwala (aka Jumps) and the most spectacular range of vocalist/horn player Harry J Angus. Felix Riebl was singing about world issues, and he also took a moment to engage and encourage the audience about world issues.
The crowd got more and more excited with each song they played and danced whole-heartedly, at times looking as if they’d never danced before with so much joy. It was such an adrenalin rush to be immersed within a crowd that showed so much enthusiasm for the band on stage. The visual energy of their music is something that must be experienced live to fully appreciate The Cat Empire’s diversity. Coming back for a crowd pleasing encore, The Cat Empire left everyone with a smile on their face and some still whistling the tunes on the walk back to Civic.
