Eclectic Perth Indie popsters Rainy Day Women began their national ‘Friends’ tour on Friday at Amplifier and delivered a golden set of summery tunes. The venue was filled with an array of indie kids waiting to see the group, who have recently been featuring heavily on Triple J and the Channel V indie charts.
The throaty, low-dB tones of Place Of Indigo vocalist Sam Joyce launched the evening. Tight pants potentially threatened to hinder the indie rock sensations from delivering harmonies, but vigorous tracks like Kaleidoscope were presented with enough zeal to prove the band capable and original.
Jumping around stage like six year-olds on excessive sugar, following act 44th Sunset impressed the crowd through the songwriting skills of frontman Nik Thompson. Gaining ample Triple J airtime with “Caesar”, the band are punching well above the weight of their young years.
Drawing heavily from the hip thrusting pop of the ‘80s, the five members of third support act Bastian’s Happy Flight filled the room with authentic boogie via synths and samples. Eschewing laptops for live instrumentation, the dapper men made music for freethinkers and sounded prime for national recognition once their upcoming EP gets released.
Finally it was time for the main event. A congregation of enthusiastic groupies lined the first few rows, hoping to catch the eyes of Rainy Day Women’s dashing lads. Opening with “Strangers’” from their latest EP Friends, RDW seemed humbled to be performing for such a crowd after being so rapidly thrust into the spotlight in the past year.
Dylan Ollivierre sang falsetto words of love, loss and loneliness through his cute dimple smile. He writes truthful and relatable lyrics, featuring lines such as “please don’t leave me alone”, from “My Poor Mind” and “never be alone like I am” from “Strangers.” Lyrics are only one element contributing to the appeal of RDW. Daniel Henry can also lay down some sweet rhythms when he locks in with grooving bass player Thomas Allison.
A simply amazing layering of harmonious backup vocals added significantly to the breezy ditties, including crowd favourite “Aimee”. Ross Pickersgill’s cream Fender Stratocaster was the chosen weapon for channelling vintage lead lines to the enthusiastic punters, who bopped away to “Sunshine” and its stellar instrumental interlude.
Shoeless, dressed in flannel and enjoying his birthday, Allison’s solid whistling in “Runaway” impressed the crowd with the strength and pitch of his effort. The band’s current single “Friends” then enlivened the audience even more, a random character dancing away like a tipsy girl on stage.
Closing with 2012 WAMi Song of the Year “Sleigh Bed”, the winning number showcased Allison’s smooth bass talent and the cascading, catchy tones of Pickersgill’s well-played guitar.
The excitement that met the song unexpectedly turned into 30 people joining RDW on stage and invading their musical haven. It then became difficult to perform the song with twits bumping into microphones, standing on laptops and getting in the way – although it was thoroughly entertaining to watch.
Overall, Rainy Day Women showed off their easy listening and well-developed sounds, however more hooks like those found in “Sleigh Bed” wouldn’t go amiss. Let’s see what the rest of their tour brings.
