Perhaps the high price tag turned some off, or maybe some punters had traveled to Melbourne for the weekend and gotten their fix at Harvest Festival, but for whatever reason, ticket sales for Santigold’s sideshow in Adelaide weren’t good, and the gig was downsized at late notice from HQ to Fowler’s Live down the road.
The fact that it was a Monday night probably didn’t help either. But this was just the type of environment that support act Crazy P relished: coming on at 8:30pm, lead singer Danielle Moore acknowledged that the start of the working week was a strange time to see two dance acts, but it definitely didn’t faze her.
The UK five-piece delivered a luxuriant and classy support set full of their signature disco and house tinged dance music. With plenty of room to move, the band ensured everyone was dancing over the course of their hour-long set and turned the rough Fowlers into a veritable nightclub.
With the set reaching its peak with their 2002 song “You Started Something”, it was around this time that the ceiling fans seemed to turn into giant disco balls.
Although the band has always felt criminally underrated – perhaps their name change (from Crazy Penis) caught a few fans off guard – the crowd were pleading for more even as the group were packing up.
With the wait time in-between sets stretching to forty-five minutes, it was a shame the venue wasn’t able to capitalize on the good will Crazy P conjured up through their set with more suitable dance music.
By the time Santi White aka Santigold came on at 10:15 though, no one in the crowd seemed to mind.
Without the live band that was with her when she toured the country for last year’s Parklife, White’s set definitely had a more club vibe. “Accompanied by naught but her SG1 dancers and DJ, Santigold was ready to party, jumping straight into “GO!” off of her 2012 album Master Of My Make Believe, followed by 2008 mega-hit “L.E.S Artistes”.
“Say Aha” followed, with White cheekily yelling to the crowd “you’ve got plenty of room to dance, I want to see it!”
After a quick costume change, “Disparate Youth”, “The Keepers” and “Anne” kept the mood up before White got a few fans on stage for “Creator”. While those selected were delighted, in a club show where the lines between audience and performer were already more blurred than usual it felt superfluous and clunky.
But that was the only misstep of the night, as White continued with a huge smile on her face playing songs like “Shove It”, “Big Mouth” and “Unstoppable” as she regularly thanked the audience.
With the crowd politely stretching themselves out across the Fowlers floor, it was a supremely enjoyable experience and probably reminded many how fun shows can be on the rare occasions you have room to dance, even if it all could have taken place in perhaps a more suitable venue.
For the 200 passionate enough to attend, it was a heartening and unexpectedly great show from two confident and fun loving acts – it’s hard to think of a better way to start a week.
