+44, Unwritten Law, Juliette And The Licks
Thebarton Theatre
Fri 2 March


Juliette And The Licks exploded onto the stage tonight with a fast rock number. Juliette's enthusiasm and energy were simply entertaining as she paraded around the stage wearing tight white pants and demanding the crowd's undivided attention. Whilst the crowd barely moved, except for a few kids up the front, the band didn't bat an eye and kept churning out both new and old rock'n'roll songs. Comparing themselves to Jet and Wolfmother is almost an accurate description, although I'm sure Nic Cester wouldn't take his top off during the final song to reveal a small triangular bikini!

Having warmed up the crowd brilliantly, it was now time for Unwritten Law to hit the stage. The audience immediately sprung to life and you could tell this was who they were here to see. Playing old favourites such as Cailin and Harmonics, the first and quite possibly the only circle pit of the night occurred during the anthem Lonesome. Singer Scott Russo had put on his professional hat and after putting on an incredible show unlike during previous visits, I was quite impressed and I'm sure the majority of the crowd were also. Another piece of clothing was removed, this time by Russo but this was sure to be expected as the temperature rose in anticipation of tonight's headlining act. Exceeding all expectations, the band rocked through Teenage Suicide, Save Me and She Says amongst others before ending their energetic set with crowd favourite Up All Night.

With the crowd loudly chanting for +44 the band entered the stage, opening with Lycanthrope and proceeding to play most of the tracks from their one and only album, 'When Your Heart Stops Beating', including the title track, Baby Come On, Little Death and 155. Singer Mark Hoppus proved that he's still young at heart by managing to even throw in some toilet humour.

I'm sure many die hard +44 and Blink 182 fans would have been crossing their fingers for days and checking MySpace for any signs of Travis Barker making an appearance but this wasn't to be with fill-in Gil replacing him. Preparing the crowd for an encore they came back onstage and ended with an '80s cover that in Hoppus' words, "None of you would know because you're not old enough." A perfectly created line-up with each act complimenting the next - it's such a pity Adelaide missed out on the Soundwave festival, but who can really complain when you've just witnessed a show like this one!

Fiona Stafford

Pics: Julie Richards