Grouplove, The Head & TheHeart @ The Gov, Adelaide(5/1/2012)

Thu 12th Jan, 2012 in Gig Reviews

Opening act from Seattle The Head and The Heart were great and no doubt won plenty of new fans that night with their unique brand of indie folk-pop sounding drawing influences from other indie acts such as Death Cab For Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Mumford & Sons and The Decemberists to mention a few. Playing mostly from their self titled debut (later remastered and released on the Sub Pop label) with highlights including Down In The Valley and the set closer Rivers and Roads.

The break between bands seemed an eternity (some great tunes were played though) but when Grouplove hillbilly Sean Gadd ran out on stage it seemed to fire the crowd up no end, “Adelaide, let’s have some fun, we’re Grouplove” then with a monster hit Don’t Say Oh Well in hand from the band’s self titled EP getting things going in a blaze of glory. Wow! The intensity didn’t let up either with the crowd singing in unison and the band feeding of that. Lovely Cup was great filled with great harmonies and Itchin’ On A Photograph just about lifted the roof of the joint making for one of many highlights.

Christian Zucconi made the bold statement that “tonight’s the real rock ‘n roll show, we’re going to lose our minds, come on get weird and crazy with us,” followed by Sean’s funny comment that “I was born weird, came out weird.”

Grouplove have so many great songs and the whole sing-a-long vibe makes them feel even more familiar. It wasn’t just about the album but the self titled EP got a good airing particularly with a tune they don’t play often by way of Betty’s A Bombshell. Zucconi continued to be full of praise of the crowd for this band coming from all the way in LA dedicating the next tune to summertime playing Gold Coast. Naked Kids was another highlight and so to was Spun.

So many great songs with the potential to become great singles and ultimately must plays in future live shows. The wolf howls before Close Your Eyes And Count To Ten was gold and Ryan Rabin’s fluro drum sticks illuminating in the drum solo during Slow was stellar.

Like all good things the show had to come to an end but not without an epic send off with an encore featuring Tongue Tied and Colours making for a kick arse start to the gig calendar for 2012. The crowd surf albeit a quick one by Christian and Co. was well executed before their final farewells later venturing out to pose for photos and sign autographs. No doubt if and when they’ll come back they’ll be playing a far bigger venue.