Grouplove, The Head and theHeart @ The Governor HindmarshHotel, Adelaide (05/01/2012)

Wed 11th Jan, 2012 in Gig Reviews

The Gov was filled with smiling, happy, dancing people when GroupLove brought their high energy pop/folk tunes to a sold out crowd for their first Adelaide show. After playing The Falls Festival circuit, they brought their festival vibes to their sideshows around Australia.

Support slots are often a tricky spot to fill as often the crowds can be disinterested and unkind. However when it’s done right, the crowd will flock to the stage and become instant fans. Seattle’s The Head and the Heart were the perfect choice and the sold out crowd quickly filled the room and cheered wildly. The 6-piece’s beaming smiles, energy and dancing was infectious. The strong vocals and three part harmonies sounded like Fleet Foxes meets John Steel Singers, and many of their songs included sing-a-long moments. Regularly swapping instruments and sharing mics added to their performance. At the end of the set the crowd gave them a headliner reception. Look out for these guys in the future.

With two giant eyes glowing on their backdrop, L.A. outfit Grouplove burst onto the stage to an unlikely booming hip-hop track. Crowd favourite_Itching on a Photograph_ featured early in the set and despite a false start the crowd revelled in every moment shouting each and every word. The story of the band forming in Greece after the group of Americans met each other coincidentally through their love of music suits their name and performance perfectly. Bassist Sean Gadd worked the crowd with old rock flair and Christian Zucconi on lead vocals danced around so much that he repeatedly knocked his mic stand over. The set included all the tracks off their debut album Never Trust a Happy Song with every track getting huge cheers. Grouplove are one of those groups who genuinely enjoy every moment onstage as they dance with each other, share mics, and howl along to Close Your Eyes and Count To Ten. Drummer Ryan Rabin had an impressive solo as he drummed with glow sticks with the lights down. The encore was what the crowd was waiting for with Triple J’s Hottest 100 favourite Tongue Tied as the crowd added stellar backing vocals. Colours was a great ending to one of the happiest gigs at the Gov in a long time. What a way to start the 2012 live music season!