Perth Music

Tuesday 10th June 2008
Amplifier Bar, Perth
The Thrills
Sparkadia

Irish rockers The Thrills returned to Australia once more and proved that WA is their favourite state in Oz. Three out of their six Australian dates were in WA, one in Perth, one in Fremantle and one in Margaret River. A great crowd turned out for a school night and with tickets going for 2 for the price of 1 it was little wonder. Triple J favourites, Sparkadia were lucky enough to be chosen for the support act and there were plenty of fans arriving early eagerly anticipating the Sydney alt-rockers.

Sparkadia got on stage very early and without any fuss got straight into playing. The band seamed somewhat nervous at the start of their set and lead vocalist Alex Burnett explained that a four hour delayed flight was the reason behind his messy, Robert Smith-esque hairstyle. After a few songs the band’s nerves had calmed and the crowd were getting a feel for the music. Sparkadia’s debut album Postcards had just been released two weeks previously and their were as many fans in the crowd singing along to the songs as their were fans curious as to how the Sydneysiders would sound live. Too Much To Do was the crowd favourite and as they finished Burnett advised “We won’t bite so if you see us at the bar come and say hello”.

After a short intermission The Thrills blasted into their fun and happy indie-Irish songs. A large Irish contingent of fans filled the back of The Amplifier and were as loud as the diehard fans at the front. It was obvious the band has toured extensively as lead vocalist Conor Deasy was able to interact with the crowd with ease, getting them involved while singing and talking in between songs. A great sight during the seen was guitarists Daniel Ryan and Padraic McMahon swapping bass and guitar song after song playing both instruments seamlessly. A few songs were played from their newest album Teenager but the band played plenty from previous albums to keep older fans as happy as new ones.

The band then invited touring buddies and Perth greats The Sleepy Jackson on stage to a huge applause from the audience. Luke Steele inducted The Thrills into the Amplifier Hall Of Fame by getting the crowd to sing in key with help from some nifty guitar work. The two bands then sang and played together the Sleepy’s hit Morning Rain followed by The Thrills song One Horse Town. It was truly a special moment and the respect each band had for each other was as obvious as the amount of fun they were having on stage.  After going off stage, The Thrills returned to play crowd favourite What Ever Happened To Corey Haim leaving the crowd buzzing at the end of the night.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 10:41 pm and is filed under Gig Reviews, Touring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.