Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males seem guaranteed to find their way into the Australian psyche since, much like Youth Group and Augie March, they manage to pull off the elusive hat-trick; intimate songs with distinctly Australian themes, which translate successfully into energetic live performances.
Despite their efforts as a ubiquitous support act over the last 12 months, I’d never managed to catch Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males live. Thus uninitiated to Kelly and co, I was expecting to have one of those gig-going experiences where you spend the night adrift, watching everyone else enjoy themselves, whilst lamenting that you didn’t make the effort to go out and buy the album yourself.
Instead, I felt instantly welcome in Dan Kelly’s world – his carefully crafted songs seemed to have reached my subconscious by osmosis. The material from the new album consistently hits all the right notes, achieving pop peaks without the pap, mirroring Kelly’s down to earth attitude and easy rapport with his audience.
Having only heard snatches on the radio (perhaps explaining the osmosis), I was also surprised by the strong presence of the Alpha Males in the set. In the studio, Kelly’s voice steals the show, but live the impressive Alpha Males jostle for poll position. Their upbeat rhythms and onstage camaraderie leave no room for a dominant ‘centre stage’ presence.
Starting the night with the enticing grooves of Step Forward and Safeway Holiday (Get Wise), the band kicked into high gear early with the sun soaked harmonies of Baby Sitters of the World Unite, a highlight of the set and deservedly fulfilling its destiny as a radio hit on Triple J.
Acoustic gems Drunk on Election Night and Lonely Coconut offered breathing space, but the odd selection of Pregnant Conversation and the 7 minute Fire and Theft for the encore risked closing the set on a slow, if not low, note.
The wistful undertones and unabashed earnestness of Kelly’s lyrics, so integral to his charm, were somewhat lost amidst the party-popper atmosphere. Still, Kelly’s ability to tell a damn entertaining tale survived intact, with the assembled crowd jubilantly dancing and singing along to Kelly’s yarns of heartbreak and love gone wrong.
