Homecoming shows are always going to special for bands. But in the age of social media, with so many average videos uploaded to your choice of social media channel, the exclusivity of a live gig is slowly beginning to dwindle. With this in mind, for a band to sell out a medium sized venue without announcing the show (twice in the same year), they must be doing something right. This was the exact case with Sticky Fingers‘ homecoming at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre.
Having sold out an entire national tour unannounced earlier in the year, this feat was probably harder to do. Without any new material (bar one song) in their repertoire, would the crowd still froth on their every word and note? In short: yes, and then some.
Acting as support for the night was Sydney four piece ADKOB (A Different Kind Of Busy).
Describing themselves as ‘Post-Post-Post-Rock’, you could sense they were the type of band to not take themselves too seriously, while also playing some awesome jangly-shimmery-guitar-rock. With tambourine used sparingly, the band set off on a half hour set of Last Dinosaurs-esque polite indie pop gems. Closing out with current single “Glue”, I’m sure those in attendance were pretty happy with their choice to come along early.
With the night off to a great start, the next ‘act’ on stage was definitely something I didn’t expect to see. Danny, from Danny’s Seafood Restaurant in La Perouse, came on trying to sell not only his restaurant, but also the meat tray raffle they were running for charity. Where I come from (God’s country), meat tray raffles go part and parcel with a visit to the local; it’s definitely not something I’ve seen before at the Enmore. Following on from Danny, the on-stage DJ was smashing out some mad bangers. His mix of Hermitude’s “The Buzz” into Drake’s “Hotline Bling”, into Rupert Holmes’ “(Escape) The Pina Colada Song” was just outrageous, but oh so satisfying. The DJ had done his job: the crowd was primed and ready for action.
As the opening notes of “Land Of Pleasure” pinged out, you could tell both Sticky Fingers and the crowd were ready for a big one. I have a general measure for how keen the crowd is for the show: the first appearance of girls on someone’s shoulders. It took one verse for the first girl to appear above the heads of everyone else. Judging by this loose scale, the crowd were keen to get loose and by the look of the band, so were they.
An early appearance of “These Girls” had the crowd in raptures. I remember seeing StiFi at Splendour In The Grass in 2014 and the band wondered why they never made “These Girls” a single. Judging by the crowd’s response, I wonder [that] too. With the obligatory thanks and welcoming out of the way, the lads moved into “Gold Snafu”, with the hook ever so clearly sounded back to and with the band.
An early stand out was the dub heavy “Bootleg Rascal”, its chorus was huge and front man Dylan Frost was as raggedy as ever. With his raggedy attitude in place, Frost got the Prodigy influenced “Just For You” underway, with a stage dive intertwined mid-track. When stage dives of this magnitude occur, you know shit is about to go down. This was one of the set highlights.
With every show I attend, I’ll take the chance to zone out for a couple minutes and take the crowd and their presence in. I took this opportunity on “Liquorlip Loaded Gun”. From drinks being thrown, to phones raised high and more girls on shoulders, this was the track that was set to unite a crowd that was growing increasingly edgy.
The slowest, most solemn part of the night took place with “Rum Rage”, while their new protest track “Ghost Town” (about Sydney’s lock out laws), with its positive sentiment, left the crowd a little lost. Yeah, it’s a new song, so maybe that’s why. It’s a well-intended track, but lacked the one-two (coward) punch that would make it a killer track.
As the crowd became restless, the introduction of “Australia Street” was the unifying moment of the night. In at least twenty shows I’ve seen at the Enmore, never before have I seen the upstairs balcony bend and bounce so much with the occupants jumps as the track built and built. This was the moment that I’ll take from the night. It was a sight to behold; music in all its glory. Ending the main set there, the lads returned for a three-track encore, much to the applause and thanks of the hometown crowd.
For a band to sell out a show months in advance, unannounced, shows the love their fans have for Sticky Fingers. And judging by their performance tonight, the feeling was pretty bloody mutual.
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