Evermore, Amy Meredith @Southern Cross Club, Woden24/03/2010

Tue 30th Mar, 2010 in Gig Reviews

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Evermore isn’t usually a name that’s synonymous with “crowd-pleasing” after their Truth of the World concept tour left gig-goers underwhelmed last year, but surprisingly they belted out a nice mix of old and new to a diverse crowd (family entertainment, anyone?) on a rather chilly Wednesday night. Determined to stand out, supporting band Amy Meredith (ironically made up of 5 groovy guys) were the real show stoppers, pumping out a myriad of fun pop hits for the general public.

Proving that it isn’t just a venue for bingo or failed Australian Idol alumni, Southern Cross Club in Phillip took on the daunting task of housing New Zealand’s 21st century answer to Queen. The mood was a bit tense; rows of stiff looking chairs lined up and cranky faces at the door. In what looked to be an attempt to stall or time fill, drummer Dann Hume from Evermore took to the stage with nothing but a guitar, an iPhone and a pretty snazzy mini mixing desk. With such a stale and uninspiring audience for company, (“I feel like I’m at a school assembly.”) the youngest of the Evermore boys pulled out some pretty nifty tracks, a highlight being the remixed Thomas the Tank Engine theme and his “Nintendo solo”. Rocking the geek-chic look, Dann rocked his way through what seemed an age of self-penned songs, and the catchy “good for radio” appeal proved tiresome. With his twangy tone and drawn out notes, the songs seemed a little same ol’, same ol’ and it was a relief when Dann announced his final track.

Amy Meredith sidled onto the stage next, the image was a little confusing. As a band, visually they didn’t work; the guitarist looked like a rugby player, their singer a gender bending Culture Club fan circa ‘84 and the drummer could’ve belonged to Green Day. Despite it’s fashion faux pas, Amy Meredith had the mixbag crowd hooked from the opening note. Frontman, Christian was charismatic, energetic and had one big ol’ voxbox. The audience was buzzing. All they needed was an invitation and Amy Meredith politely told the crowd to “Get the eff up here and dance!”. Performing a slew of pop rock meets electro, the band was a pleasant dash of fresh air, and the members’ eccentric stage presence and enthusiasm offset the slightly unoriginal music being belted out. Treating the crowd to a funked up cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Amy Meredith warmed up the crowd like any good support band but definitely showcased true pop potential.

Shut down lights. Cue screams. Enter Evermore. With promises of a spectacular light show, Welcome to the Show began and dread filled the air. Anything but another concept show, puh-lease! Surprise surprise! The band’s swift changeover to their latest single Underground was welcomed, but daring. The usual way to captivate an audience is to belt out a familiar track, reel ‘em in so they can’t escape and then unleash the new material. However, Evermore proved they’ve still got it and were friendly and engaging, interacting with the crowd and rocking some old favs early in the set. Confronting yet totally appropriately cool, the drum kit was placed front and right, giving you a full view of the band as a whole. Middle brother and keyboardist/bassist, Peter delighted the crowd with his jumbled jelly leg jive and close crowd contact while frontman Jon, tended to blend into the background with the main witty quips coming from the other two bros. Full of crowd-pleasers, but no real show stopping moments, the band hit all the right notes (both literally and metaphorically) and did well to promote their new self-titled album, which is more a “best of..” for lack of a better phrase.

With the real standouts of the night being Amy Meredith, the audience were still enraptured by the awkwardly handsome brotro (brother trio) and Evermore left the audience with a distinct feeling of wonderment about how three such underfed men could produce such a huge sound.

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