Live Review: Hoodoo Gurus, You Am I, Jebediah & Adalita bring fists full o’ rock to Adelaide

Following a successful regional tour together, the Hoodoo Gurus and You Am I decided to hit the road again and luckily for the rest of the country, they added Jebediah and Adalita added to the bill. The Fist Full of Rock  tour kicked off in Adelaide on Friday at Thebarton Theatre, with what was a night of great Aussie rock’n’roll featuring some of the most beloved and energetic live acts Australia has to offer.

Adalita was first up, hitting the stage at 7:30pm as the venue was still filling up. Her set included some amazing tracks, such as “Trust is Rust”, “Ice” and “Blue Sky”, and we all know what an incredible musician she is, and she has magnetic stage presence. However her  soulful, moody rock set didn’t really kick-start the evening, as much as slowly ease the crowd into it.

Next up Jebediah came bounding onto the stage full of energy and launched into “Lino”. Unable to resist the cliche that is the tour’s name, they ask the Adelaide crowd if they are ‘ready for a Fist Full of Rock?’ However, Kevin Mitchell then goes on to explain that Jebediah are ‘more of a handy’, but reassures us, ‘it’ll be more fisty later’.

Jebediah are full of smiles as they put on an energetic performance that has the whole crowd singing along. They delivered a steady stream of favourites such as “She’s Like A Comet”,Animal”, “Harpoon” and “Fall Down”.

When it comes to live Aussie rock’n’roll it doesn’t get much better than You Am I. Tim Rogers walks out wearing a matching gold jacket and platform shoes, cracks open a bottle of wine and we know we are in for a good time.

“Junk”, “Minor Bird” and “Get Up” start things off, as Rogers then takes the time to thank Hoodoo Gurus for taking a chance on them back when they were young lads in the early 90’s. They then proceed to show us exactly why You Am I have been the benchmark for live Aussie rock for more than 20 years.

Rogers shimmies across the stage, full of endless energy and good humour, introducing “Milk” as a song about lactose intolerance. They stop mid-“Cathy’s Clown” when Rogers thinks the PA has cut out. He soon realises it was Rusty Hopkins kick drum dropping out, and explains how important is it to have Hopkins beat resonating through him as he plays. They finished it all up with “Berlin Chair” and bow-out to rapturous applause from the Adelaide crowd.

We expected a lot from the headlining act, one of the truly great Aussie rock bands. Hoodoo Gurus are a vibrant band, with so many beloved hits that it would be hard for them to go wrong. If their set tonight was anything to go on, then they showed us that their live performance, like their music, has survived the passing of time.

Dave Faulkner is a congenial and cheerful frontman, telling us the band were happy to be back in Adelaide, and at Thebby after such a long time. They played a set that was an equal balance of lesser-known numbers and hits, such as “Come Anytime”. Belting out energetic power-pop classics such as, “Miss Freelove”, the sing-a-long favourite “Bittersweet”, and the melodic “1000 Miles Away”.  

Returning for an encore of “What’s My Scene”, they then treated the crowd to a raucous rendition of the Sweet’s classic rock’n’roll track, “Ballroom Blitz” with Tim Rogers and Davey Lane from You Am I joining in the fun. What a way to end a show!

The reviewer attended this show on August 25th.

FIST FULL OF ROCK TOUR DATES

August 31st | Enmore Theatre, SYDNEY | Tickets
September 1st | NightQuarter, GOLD COAST | Tickets
September 2nd | Eatons Hill Hotel, BRISBANE | Tickets

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