As much as New South Wales punk-rockers Something With Numbers have come to be known for their punchy, hook-laden songs, their unrestrained and energetic live shows have earned them an equally impressive reputation that has always made this band a pleasure to watch. So what happened at Adelaide’s Fowler’s Live?
Behind every less-than-average rock show there is a good reason: a borderline-dead crowd means an even more uninspiring band performance, but while those in attendance tonight showed some genuine excitement to see SWN on the back of Engineering The Soul, the band members themselves just didn’t seem to be feeling it. And considering the bouncy spark that is usually the band’s frontman Jake Grigg, this never should have been the case. The flamboyant, larger-than-life vocalist has fast become infamous for his jerky, turrets-like behaviour on stage which makes him quite captivating to watch and impossible not to like in general – visually, the man is a mountain of energy with post-electrocution-like hair. The rest of the band, comprising of bassist Scott Chapman, drummer Dave McBeath and guitarists Tim Crocker and Lachlan Scott, are no background-Betty either: all round, this is normally one of the most interactive line-ups to be experienced live… Unfortunately, and it pains me greatly to say, tonight just doesn’t measure up.
Interestingly, it is largely material from Perfect Distraction that appears to shock the band back to life and motivate Grigg to jump around the stage like a madman. Not surprisingly, the punters respond the best to tracks from the guys’ third album thanks to the commercial success of Apple Of The Eye (Lay Me Down) and Goodbye Mickey Finn as well as the massive popularity of Chase The Chaser and Bring Me Down Water. From their new album, the radio hit Stay With Me Bright Eyes goes down an absolute treat while This Will Be The Last Time gets the crowd eating out of the palm of SWN’s hand.
Everything aside though, really, it’s amazing how far this band has come since the release of the grammatically-incorrect The Barnicles And Stripes EP all the way back in 2002. Since those days, SWN have managed to make a smooth, successful transition from a group of emo kids to serious rock artists with the ability to pen some killer hits. So – even though Engineering The Soul may not yet be what Perfect Distraction was and tonight’s show may not have gone off like a firecracker – this is by no means a band to write off any time soon.
