Primal Scream @ Selina's,Sydney (29/01/2011)

Sun 30th Jan, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Primal Scream’s 1991 breakthrough record Screamadelica is undeniably a classic album. A flowery, druggy celebration of Britain’s acid house scene by way of indie rock, it’s still finding new fans twenty years on. Which makes a 20th anniversary celebration of the album a pretty inviting proposition.

That’s certainly the case for the 1700-odd fans who would later find themselves packed into a sweaty, heaving Selina’s. But when support act World’s End Press take the stage, there’s only a scattered handful of people milling about. A shame, because their take on disco was a lot of fun, and they play it with a vibrant enthusiasm. Not every song clicked, but when it did it was damn good. Especially with the bassist’s dance moves.

By the time Primal Scream take the stage, Selina’s is packed. It’s hot, it’s cramped, and as Bobby Gillespie and co. walk on stage it absolutely erupts. There’s a huge vibe, and it becomes ecstatic when they launch into album opener Movin’ On Up. The sound is crisp and clear, the performance is sharp, and the band are feeding off the crowd’s frenzy. And on-stage the songs are sent into overdrive by loud guitars and bass, hinting ever so slightly at the penchant for claustrophobic noise that fueled later albums like XTRMNTR. It works perfectly, maintaining the integrity of the original while gently pushing it towards a more intense sound that makes the album’s peaks sound absolutely colossal.

The trip through the album continues with Slip Inside This House and Don’t Fight It, Feel It, but the group make a departure after that, skipping to later track Damaged. And for the rest of the show, the setlist sticks to Screamadelica tracks but re-arranges them. It’s a savvy move, and not only makes the set move into a stunning climax, but also maintains an element of surprise. The only downside is that it creates a slight lull in the middle, with slower and arguably weaker tracks like Shine Like Stars and Inner Flight lumped together. But it’s a fair trade-off, with a stunning finish to the set – both iterations of Higher Than The Sun combined into a huge psychedelic jam, followed up by Loaded and set closer Come Together.

It’s an incredible set, one that inspires a deafening cheer for an encore. It’s answered, though disappointingly, it’s only four songs – far shorter than their hits set that accompanied the Screamadelica set at their UK shows. And it only contains tracks from Screamadelica follow-up Give Out But Don’t Give Up (including hit single Rocks ) and their latest two albums. More from their extensive back catalog would’ve been a treat, but it’s hard to leave complaining when the main attraction was so ecstatically good.