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Gomez + Paul Dempsey Thebarton Theatre, Tues 22 March  There's
been something strange going on in Adelaide lately: people have started
going to shows. In fact, just about every show I've been to since
the uncharacteristically mad popularity of the Big Day Out has sold
out, be it on a weekend or a weeknight, be it a big international
band or a small band from interstate. And while it would have been
quite a feat for Gomez to sell out the rather large Thebarton Theatre,
they must have fallen only marginally short - by the time they graced
the stage, it really was standing room only up the front, which is
marvellous considering the price of the tickets. Keep it up, Adelaide
- after all, if we can keep doing this, we may start to get all the
bands we want to see.First up on the night were Paul Dempsey and his trusty acoustic guitar. Now Something For Kate and I have had our differences over the years, particularly since the band followed up the brilliant and seminal 'Beautiful Sharks' with an increasingly insipid series of nightmarishly dull label-pleasers. But there is still fuel in Paul Dempsey's tank - this show bringing home the genius found on the recently released b-side collection, 'Phantom Limbs'. All of Dempsey's sins were forgiven the moment he started his closing track, the signature cover of Hazel's Truly - that song, and his version, is to be one of the defining songs of my life. Gomez were, suffice it to say, extraordinary. They played for around two hours, covering all points of the band's career, from some of the heavier pulsations from latest album 'Split The Difference' to the quieter moments of days past (We Haven't Turned Around was a particular highlight). It was quite impressive to see how many of their songs had been re-arranged; most of the set was quite electric, and some tracks, such as Revolutionary Kind, had become somewhat electronic. But what Gomez gave up in organics, they picked up in style - a booming sound enveloped the crowd, sometimes painfully so, but we were all under their spell. Screaming singalongs to Get Myself Arrested and Make No Sound were quite incredible, as was the deafening roar produced by the crowd to demand an encore. But we should've been even more dramatic at the end. Two hours was not enough - next time, I'll be right up front again, waiting for my next fix.  |
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