We turned up just before the opening time of 8am to the arena hoping to get a good spot to enjoy the show and discovered a lineup of more than 100m around the corner. So my partner in crime and I joined the long line of excited fans and we were informed 15 minutes later that there were technical problems and there was a 15 minute wait….. 1.5 hours later we got inside the venue. There were technical problems at the other shows so I was not surprised but would have liked to been ushered inside to get away from the cold and to fortify myself with a few quality Australian beers to withstand the welsh onslaught.

Yves Klien Blue blasted onto stage and the main singer, brandishing a shiny black and white guitar (which was quivering in anticipation) informed us that due to the long wait outside, their set would be “quick and dirty, but some of you might like it like that”. They launched into their first track Digital Love and the crowd was blown away with the sheer loudness and intensity of the young band. The introducing drums to this track had everyone’s head turning, even the thirsty punters at the bar gave more than a cursory glance. Michael Tomlinson displayed voice talents beyond his years, gravelly and strong (despite the fact every time he sung a note, a large sea spray torrent of saliva ejected from his mouth). The second song hovered over alternative country but was jaunty and playful with fantastic accompaniment from the keyboard (the keyboard player loved it, he had his best orgasm face on). The band enthralled the crowd with their charisma and launched into their 3rd track which was a true Australian rock track that would make Cold Chisel blush, meaty guitars and heavy drumming rounded out the track with approving head bobs from the crowd. Tomlinson informed us that the lights had been left on in the venue to stop us ‘making out’ and then threw themselves into their 4th and final track, the lead guitarist (who looked like a disgruntled year 11 student) showed us just how good mad moppy haired guitar solos can be. The song sounded very arctic monkey esque tinged with Australiana. The band in their leisure suit larry suits and wild hair made an exit, which was unfortunate after only 4 songs as the crowd was just started to really warm to them. They have improved exponentially from the times when I saw them unleash their sound on the UQ community when they were trying to garner our votes.

The 5 boys from British India who join us from Melbourne raged on stage in their typical perineum popping fashion – lead singer Declan Melia throws a “Cheers mate” after an audience member informed him that he ‘rocks’ (apt description). Devoid of pleasantries, they push into their first song Turn me on and it started out like the beginning of the Hard Fi track Middle eastern holiday, rocking and rough with some serious guitar edge. The sound issues obviously still prevailed as Declan’s voice was lost to the Arena’s imposing speaker stack. The second song was an imposing wall of rock with cracking drums and striking guitar (reminded me much of Grinspoon’s Champion), dual vocals hashed over the impressive guitar backing. This song really warmed the crowd up to the prospect of a night of rock, there was much head bobbing from the welsh crew. The song Airport Tax followed quickly, it rocked out briefly and then lulled, the launched into catchy indie vocals. People in the crowd were really getting it the band, they seemed unsure why or how but the bewildered head rocking was accompanied by smiles. The band ripped into their triple J hottest 100 track Run The Red Light and a few more people in the crowd knew this song, thus much more crowd movement. The vocals were again distorted and the band threw themselves into this song with more passion and a handclap was started which everyone happily obliged. Declan informs us that “We are from Melbourne, but doesn’t matter because you’re all from fucking England anyway” and launch into their final song Tie Up My Hands which is an excellent song, very anthemic and catchy, they draw out the song with a fake ending which delights the crowd and fly off stage to make way for the anticipated Stereophonics. Overall they delivered what I have seen in the past with a little more gritty finesse and were solid and catchy.

With Welsh flags dripping from the Arena’s every orifice and a sea of very excited (and friendly!) Welsh men and women beers in hand, looking forward to being blown away with rock. The demographic of the crowd was a jostling mixture of middle aged rockers, rowdy British and pretty girls waiting desperately for a glimpse of their idol Kelly Jones. The said heartthrob swash buckled on stage with Bono-esque sunglasses, a leather jacket and immaculate hair and instantly and permanently wooed the female contingent of the audience and cruised into a beautiful solo track Bank Holiday Monday framed by orange lights. The crowd joins in, with jubilant appreciation and Jones’s leather clad crew jostle on stage with beaming smiles ( Richard Jones on bass & vocals and newish (2003-) drummer Javier Weyler ). The Bartender And The Theif has us transported directly to London mod rock scene, the band cool, collected and tight as we all throw ourselves in different directions in appreciation. A Thousand Trees had the crowd moshing away, everyone was overjoyed. The band threw themselves into Superman – the lyrics were hard to understand, but nobody cared as the guitar work was nearly unbelievable and Kelly looked out to the crowd expectantly for approval. Devil was perfectly executed, with urgent guitar and all I leant over to my accomplice and uttered “This song is fucking rocking”, a view evidently shared by others. The controversial track Mr Writer had wailing guitars, a kind of soft rock that you could fall asleep to. It felt very meaningful, polished and powerful and the entire crowd screamed back the lyrics. A great slow ending was thrown in to a swaying sweaty crowd. The lights go off, the lights go on….. then ROCK, they introduced Doorman which was one of the best songs of the night, the hardest rock and just blew us away. I probably lost a few frequencies of my hearing but I didn’t care. Ears bleeding, the band pushed into Local Boy In The Photograph about someone Kelly knew that committed suicide, which showcased his excellent story telling lyrical brilliance. Kelly counts in the next song with the crowd and has a country swagger, the whole crowd sings back as Kelly wails “You can have it all if you want!”. Kelly again woos the crowd with Have A Nice Day and Maybe Tomorrow which both have romantic overtones and have couples snuggling and women crying. The band explains the next song off their new record is about the mood in London around the time of the terrorist attacks and what everyone felt, very emotive and powerful. As the end of the night drew near, everyone weary from a long night and the band came back on for an encore which included the fantastic song Dakota which had the whole room moving and there was much waving of flags and hugging each other and fawning over the band which they so clearly love.

Overall, Stereophonics turned the Arena into a fully blown stadium experience. Kelly’s whisky tinged vocals were magnificent and although his voiced seemed on the brink of breaking, it powered through every song and soared to new heights. Despite the wait and technical trouble, everyone just had such an excellent time, and the atmosphere was wonderful with everyone drinking, swaying, dancing, jumping, fawning and hugging. The set varied well in intensity but rockin’ was always on the agenda. The band was confident, well rehearsed and had us in the palm of their hand the entire time.