Gomez @ The Factory, Sydney(3/5/11)

Thu 4th Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Following a magnificent set on Monday at The Metro with a mid-week show at The Factory in Marrickville was going to be hard to pull off. There were familiar faces from Monday in attendance and I am not talking about Ian, Olly, Ben, Tom or Paul from Gomez, but of the faithful followers in the crowd. Most of the smiling faces were appreciative of the support Leader Cheetah, but the buzz you could feel was for these five lads of Gomez.

Kicking off with Shot, Shot and Bring It On were sweet morsels to get the delighted fans rolling along. With a set list that was made up of new songs and the others a grab bag from their various releases, this was an interesting mix that gave us a few different tunes then were delivered to us on Monday. The highlights from the new album, Whatever Is On Your Mind, were the title track where Ben showed that his vocal chords were returning to normal after his illness; the pop/psychedelicized I Will Take You There which is ‘classic’ Gomez; and the hard rocking drumming and guitar shaped Equalize with Ben once again in fine vocal shape.

Olly Peacock proved through the night that he can keep just about any beat, drive the band along and add creative licks throughout. Ian Ball was electrified in his orange pants and Tom Gray seemed a bit disappointed at a Wednesday night crowd who could have been a bit more engaged. Early in the set he asked the three sections of the crowd (back/middle/front) to let him know how they were feeling. As to be expected the people at the front made the most noise and he tried to use this to generate some more energy in the room, but alas, it was a fairly typical Sydney crowd with people nodding and a smaller percentage shaking their bones.

None of this impacted on what Gomez delivered on the night nor did it detract from the enjoyment people showed on their faces as they bopped to How We Operate and the live favourite Whippin’ Piccadilly which finished the set. Sometimes I think bands should only come back for an encore if the crowd makes them come back with loud applause, but Gomez do not think like I do, and they returned to close the show with Ben singing a transcendent Revolutionary Kind and closing off with Options from their latest. Simply, Gomez are in the top ten of live acts touring today and that is why people make the trek to take part in this sacrament! Bless you, Gomez!