Stereophonics, live at The Forum, Melbourne

I’m not really a concert-goer, mainly down to the money side of it, but when my girlfriend suggested we go and watch the Stereophonics live at The Forum in Melbourne, after a few days pondering over whether I could afford it or not I decided to go. I’ve been a fan for years, in fact ever since I saw Cwmaman Feel The Noize, a live concert they did from Cardiff Castle in 2000, on TV. I own every album they have released too. I also grew up in South Wales. Maybe that last point isn’t so much of a reason to have to go, more of a reason to support a band away from an almost mutual stomping ground.

My lack of concert going experience may have been evident from that fact I wanted to be first in the queue to get in. I had a picture in my mind of a long queue snaking down Flinders Street which had been building since the early hours of the afternoon, so as we approached the venue to collect our tickets at 5PM, you can perhaps imagine how I was feeling. I hate queuing and if it also results in standing at the back of a performance hall for 3 hours just to hear the band then it makes me doubly disappointed. If I’m going to queue, then it has to be at the front and the wait has to be worth it. Alas, the doors were locked and there was not a person around, so perhaps for the best (and to Jacq’s relief) we were forced to do something more worthwhile, like get dinner.

We returned shortly after 6:15PM and by now there was a presence at the venue, albeit by one lonesome keen fan, a few competition winners and the staff. We collected our tickets and took our places at position 2 and 3 in the queue.

For the next hour we watched people come and go. There were lots of Welsh accents in the air. Obviously I wasn’t the only one excited about seeing some face from home. We threw ideas around about how the geeky looking teenagers that kept walking in and out had come by ‘ALL ACCESS’ passes. Fortunately it wasn’t too cold and the time passed quickly. The queue grew at a slow pace, indeed by the time we got let in to the entrance hall there were perhaps only 100 or so there. I noted how the demographic was made up mainly of those in their mid to late twenties.

After another 15 minute wait, the doors were finally opened up for us to head in to the main hall. Despite being mainly late twenty somethings, it didn’t stop most of us running like school kids down to the front to get a prime position. The smell of some exotic herb drifted out front from backstage to greet us, it must have been courtesy of some of the geeky all access teenagers we had seen previously.

The final 45 minutes of waiting passed and the support band, British India, took to the stage. Our question of who the geeky all access teenagers were was answered in one fell swoop - they were the four members of this band. I’d just like to say at this point that my assumption that it was these guys cooking with exotic herbs backstage is purely speculative.

I had heard of British India only once before last night and that was when one of their songs was introduced on TripleJ. Not one to take to new music on the radio very quickly, live being my preferred way of hearing new stuff, I was really impressed with their 30 minute set. Live performances are a good indication of a band’s talent, and I believe they have certainly got some. Their quirky way on stage had many of us smiling and laughing in between songs as well as when playing. Nic Wilson must apparently like Angus Young of AC/DC with some of NY’s mannerisms mirroring those of AY.

With British India gone, the first sign of the impending arrival of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones and Javier Weyler, along with Tony Kirkham (keyboards whilst touring) and Adam Zindani (guitar whilst touring) was the placement of a glass of red wine upon an amplifier. This was shortly followed by the lights dimming and torch beams side of stage. I could get deep here and draw comparisons with the drinking culture that South Wales basks in now and the mining history from centuries preceding. But I won’t, that would just be silly.

Considering how many concerts the group must have given since they first formed, thinking specifically about front man Kelly Jones and bassist Richard Jones, I had wondered the day before if their performance would still evoke pizazz, enthusiasm and a certain, je ne sais quoi. Would I be disappointed, witnessing a performance that thousands had seen before and could easily identify with? I know I get bored with what I do sometimes. Most people at some time or another have been in a job that they dislike. I’d go as far as to say that most people don’t like working full stop. Now imagine being in a band. On the road so often. Away from home, from family, friends and your comfort zone for months at a time, having been performing some songs over-and-over for well over 10 years. Add to this equation that it was a Sunday night and they had already performed in Melbourne just 48 hours before. Well, I wasn’t disappointed.

The performance was very tight, I think that comes from the years of gigging. The relatively new drummer, Javier Weyler was full of beans from start to finish. The Joneses are perhaps more on the laid back side, but that is by no means a criticism.

The playlist consisted of a broad array of their most popular songs spanning their six albums to date, as it has done I believe for this tour, perhaps longer. It was not just a Pull the Pin rendition. I have it on good authority that the ‘phonics aren’t as well known down under as they are elsewhere in the world, but gauging by the response of the crowd to older tracks such as Tramps Vest and Local Boy in the Photograph, I’d say they are doing all right, but perhaps that was to do with the high number of Welsh fans in the crowd.

The concert didn’t pass without a hitch. On two separate occasions an amp gave out resulting in a deafening white noise, much to the discomfort of the crowd and the annoyance of the band, each time leaving the stage, only to return with Kelly cursing the PA (company). Eventually they patched the faulty amp with a spare, but in total these technical issues cost around 20 minutes of playing time. Due to the venue’s performance licence (I believe) the band had to wind up by 11PM, which meant they couldn’t stick to the playlist and there was no encore, even though they did finish as planned with Dakota.

24 hours on from the concert and my ears are still ringing, we were fortunate to be front row so perhaps that is the price you pay. As pictured, I managed to acquire Richard’s copy of the playlist and a pick too. All in all I was really pleased with the whole performance and I look forward to seeing them again, perhaps back on the other side of the world.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.