When one thinks of music they love in Sydney these days, it’s unsurprising that most say “Cloud Control!” – their warm on stage presence, combined with some of the catchiest songs since Dappled Cities were “Fly”, always make for a show that leaves audiences spellbound, hypnotised, and shaking their tail-feather.
But this was a night to be shared by two other big talents – first up, Sydney’s The Laurels, who have the unique ability of packing out a room even if they’re the first band of the night! And indeed such was the case tonight – even Triple J’s / Frenzel Rhomb’s The Doctor was spotted in the crowd, getting a spot early for the psychedelic Sydneysiders, and rocking his socks off with the rest of us. Opening with “Black Cathedral”, the four-piece impressed the crowd in their usual hypnotising way, although the vocals seemed a bit more subdued than normal.
Follow-up act, Adelaide’s Leader Cheetah, also impressed – they’re possibly the band David Bowie would have played rock and roll in 20 years ago, and lead singer Dan Crannitch certainly takes a page out of the legends book. Their closing track, the name of which I unfortunately didn’t catch, was a stunning, epic number, that closed their set in spectacular fashion.
While some may have come just to see The Laurels (seriously!), the room was packed to the brims by the time that Cloud Control hit the stage, everyone excited to get their dance on to the Blue Mountains foursome – currently on their “Gold Canary” tour. And what a single that has turned out to be! (Check out our review HERE).
As always, the band carried with them a rare ability to lighten up any room; shine a smile onto anyone with their breezy beats, and lyrics like “Make my head a pool of water” (part of the track which opened up the show). It’s music that sticks with you even if you don’t know it, and those tracks that you do know, such as “Death Cloud” (which closed the night out), prove to be the very thing you expect – pure, unadulterated fun.
I’m really enjoying their newfound strength of experimentation on stage, as well. While they used to leave their tracks untouched, they’ve got enough of a following now (as the sold out crowd proved), that they can play around with things a bit. New songs featured a great emphasis on the drums – even two at one point! And old favourites are revitalised with new intros.
Keep it up guys – we can’t wait to hear the new album.
