Snow Patrol @ The HordernPavilion, Sydney (30/03/09)

Wed 1st Apr, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Let me be totally honest with you my faithful readers of live reviews. My desire to go to The Hordern Pavilion on this past Monday night was to see Jenny Lewis on her first visit to Australia. Jenny had the support slot for the Scottish/Irish lads of Snow Patrol and she was an excellent choice from the V Festival line-up to join them.

Jenny Lewis and her band kicked off proceedings with a nine-song entrée of the LA songstress’s music. With very little time to get it all across, they shot through a selection that focused on her new record, Acid Tongue. Jenny was in great form, as she swigged beer out of a bottle and thanked Snow Patrol for letting her take some of their fans’ time. Ms. Lewis writes some acerbic and lysergic lyrics, and her vocals proved to be stunning.

Her boyfriend, Jonathan Rice, joined her on guitar and Farmer Dave Scher added some fine slide. Barbara Gruska played some fabulous drums and the entire ensemble gathered around a microphone for backing vocals on Acid Tongue. Fernado, Pretty Bird, Carpetbaggers and a rocking The Next Messiah from her latest release were played with gusto. Jenny also gave us one off Rabbit Fur Coat, You Are What You Love.

Snow Patrol is never going to be the coolest band on the planet and their songs don’t have much in the way of variety. Somehow, though, they do appeal to people who share the same ancestry as the band. A very large contingent of the crowd tonight seemed to be from Ireland. I spoke to at least five strangers through the night and each one had a brogue thicker then the next.

With their album 2006 Eyes Open going platinum many times over in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, Snow Patrol know from where they get their bacon. You’re All I Have, Hands Open, and Shut Your Eyes (where Gary Lightbody got the crowd to shout as loud as they could) were all given the Snow treatment.

But of course the big hand-waving, body-swaying, audience participation number was Chasing Cars from that same disc. I turned to look at the people sitting in the bleachers at the Hordern and all of their mouths were moving along and the couples were hugging. That song delivers what pop music is supposed to do.

Gary Lightbody had many moments to connect with his fans throughout the night. Whether it was telling an audience member she was a “sex starved maniac” for asking him to take his shirt off, or denigrating his guitar-playing when he messed up (as he called it) “the easiest guitar solo in rock history,” he played the audience very well. Nathan Connolly was solid on guitar and the rest of the band did a fine job re-creating their songs. Simply, it was a pop music gig on a Monday night that warmed the hearts of the fans. I guess you can’t want more than that.