Kele, Strange Talk, The Touch@ HQ, Adelaide (05/08/11)

Sun 7th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Where were you Adelaide?

Ok, it was a shit of a night to head out being bloody cold and pouring with rain but next time we miss out on Splendour sideshows I don’t think anyone can complain. With capacity at HQ being eleven hundred and with only a couple hundred through the door (most on the guest list) it looked pretty ugly. The bar at the back was closed and a massive black curtain draped over it kind of sounded the death knell that last minute ground swell of support is unlikely. For those who made the effort were rewarded with three solid acts making for a good night out.

Nevertheless, the opening acts made the most of their opportunity with locals The Touch playing to a near empty venue before Strange Talk upped the ante. Strange Talk are impressive and have been of street smarts about them. For thjose who turned up early they were rewarded with choice cuts Eskimo Boy and Climbing Walls. Strange Talk are definitely a band to keep an eye out for when they’re next in town.

Kele looked everything like The Boxer decked out in an LA Lakers sweater, Adidas shorts and Nike hi-tops and was ready to go a few rounds. Only have had listened to the album a couple of times it was hard knowing what to expect but Kele bought his A-game where as looking out to see a poor turnout he could have done the bare minimum and walked through it. It seemed a perfect way to open with Walk Tall echoing the chant “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but this starts now, walk tall, walk tall” to get punters fired up.

Sweater off, proudly showing off a ripped body and ready to continue the charge wasting no time getting in to On The Lam. I reckon this one sounds better live than on the record. Kele made it quite clear that he was ‘just starting to start’ before continuing with Everything You Wanted.A random gift, a beanie, was thrown up on stage and a quick poll was taken to see if the crowd thought he looked good in it before throwing back. Unholy Ghost was introduced as song about meeting the devil.

For me, one of the highlights was the medley of Blue Light, The Prayer and One More Chance. Whether you’re a Bloc Party fan or Kele fan it was bloody great. The chants of “T E N D E R O N I” was gold also. The main set seemed quite short just ticking over thirty five minutes before returning for two encores. The big moment of encore one was the closer and Bloc Party cover This Modern Love. It seemed right to finish things up with an absolute gem aptly titled Ready To Go to send punters on their way home. Fingers crossed that a poor showing doesn’t prevent Kele returning in a ‘few years’ as he mentioned during his set.