“Oh my god I can’t wait for this gig” … “They are so good” …
This was just a sample of the chatter amongst punters as a large line waited in anticipation of seeing Sydney five-piece, Deep Sea Arcade play the Adelaide leg of their large scale national tour. The group have most recently released their first album, Outlands, which has received much praise from critics and fans alike and no doubt won the group a legion of new fans. Seen by the evening being a a sell out before doors had even opened.
To start the evening off was Gold Coast indie rock outfit, Woe and Flutter. The group opened with the somewhat nervous ramblings of front man Dusty Anastassiou and then proceeded to play a mixture of indie garage rock, which seemed to be a love child of The Kinks and The Vines. Each song seemed to sound very similar to last, not leaving much room for originality or anything too distinguishable. Anastassiou would try to win the attention of the audience by various stage antics, such as ramming his guitar against the fold back amplifiers or trying to scream, this however seemed to do very little for the crowd as did lyrics such as “I’ m a bad motherfucker with a gun.”
Next up was Brisbane lads, The Cairos. Achieving a great deal since their foundation, from touring with artists such as Julian Casablancas to becoming a strong force on the Australian music scene. The group played a strong set of fun indie rock, which got the crowd moving and ready for Deep Sea Arcade. Songs from the new album such as “Shame” seemed to get the crowd especially hyped up, but the stand-out song of the set was a superbly awesome cover of “Bette Davis Eyes”, that had everyone clapping. The group will also be holding their own national tour in July and if tonight’s show was any indication of their performance, it will be one definitely worth checking out.
As the lights grew dim, the crowd gathered around the stage and finally Deep Sea Arcade made their way onto the stage. Opening with “Seen No Right”, the entire crowd was on edge, with some punters at the front of the audience arm in arm, singing along with the group.
The guitar work of Tim Chamberlain and Simon Relf was nothing short of spectacular, especially on songs such as “Lonely In Your Arms”, “If The Devil Won’t Take You” and “Girls”, which really showed the craftsmanship of the duo’s guitar work. Frontman Nic Mckenzie was himself a centre point of the show, always performing with passion and charisma; this became quite obvious during the set when some crowd members passed him a fur vest of sorts. Mckenzie instantly put the vest on much to the delight of the crowd, the outfit making its way back onto the stage a few times during the show, not that Mckenzie seemed to mind.The group closed with “Outlands” for their encore number and assured the crowd they would be back soon enough.
The group delivered a very strong set which demonstrated just what an amazing live experience, and just how musically gifted the group really is. Deep Sea Arcade is a band with a very bright future ahead of them and definitely worthy of your attention, so if you don’t get a chance to see them live – at least be sure to pick up their new album, it will not disappoint.
– Matthew Mercieca
