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Eskimo Joe / Little Birdy – The Tivoli, Brisbane, May 4
| Music Reviews
Tonight the Tivoli’s doors open and welcome the second of two sold out shows to roll through Brisbane on the one weekend. However judging by the reaction of punters spread across the bottom and upper levels, the Perth trio could have very easily opened the doors again the night after without a worry in the world. The old-style theatre setting provides the perfect backdrop to one of Australia’s leading modern rock outfits, with a room full of anticipation and a dash of red wine.
Perth friends Little Birdy get feet tapping and heads nodding with their version of electro pop rock. They get the crowd on their side early by dropping familiar radio favourites off their latest offering Hollywood such as “Come on” and latest single “After Dark”. But more importantly there was something fresh and new to Little Birdy tonight that worked in their favour. Even the change in hair colour by front-woman Katy Steele grabs attention and guarantees the night wont be remembered as a one band show.
Thirty minutes later the lights fade to the delight of the capacity crowd as front-man/bassist Kav appears on top of a riser at the very back of the stage hitting a drum as they introduce the set. Without any hesitation they jump straight into “Sarah” which takes the whole audience by surprise. The ‘Joe have quite a back catalogue of singles which they pull out one after the other while squeezing newies off their latest record in the gaps where ever they can. One thing they rely on heavily and don’t care about disguising is how often the front three have to swap and change their instruments to be able to play each song properly with the limited number of hands onstage. This unsettled me at first because their roles kept changing but gradually you grew to appreciate the effort that was being made to re-create every sound live. Guitarist Stu made it clear that the second Brisbane show was holding its own against the first. For a band who predominantly deliver strong, emotional, slow songs, they somehow create a high energy that they turn up when they need to throughout the set. Although they very rarely lower it, which gives punters absolutely no chance to sneak away and buy a drink.
Hottest 100 #2 single “Black fingernails, red wine” gets a run just before the encore. Even those who have been living under a rock for the past twelve months would know every word to that song and that’s made clear by the reaction of the crowds voice as the band say goodnight. Before anyone had left they return with a cover of “Always Take the Weather with you” by Crowded house and then leave the stage for the second time. Once again they are applauded back on to finish up with highly anticipated “From the Sea”.
What started out 6 or 7 years ago as a punk rock show has now evolved into dynamic and powerful journey from start to finish. Believable. Inspiring. Captivating. If you missed Eskimo Joe on this tour, see them twice on their next.
