The mutual love affair between Cosmo Jarvis and Australia continued with a near-sold out Northcote Social Club show that displayed the eccentric and eclectic Brit’s full talents.
Sydney-based four-piece Lime Cordiale began the night with reggae-infused pop numbers filled with energy and a lot of fun. Brothers Oliver and Louis Leimbach shared vocal duties across the night, and Brendan Champion’s trombone gave nearly every song a unique edge.
The slowly building crowd trickled in across the set, which included the already well-loved songs like ‘Bullshit Aside’ as well as the band’s latest single ‘Sleeping At Your Door’. After an enjoyable and continually interesting set, and an announcement that the Sydney-siders would be returning to the city in November, Lime Cordiale departed the stage to well-deserved applause.
UK-based Cosmo Jarvis seems to appear on our shores at least twice year, having previously played Falls Festival and a slew of sideshows at the start of the year, but the now packed and bustling crowd proved that he’ll always be welcome.
After playing an extended, mandolin-based intro while waiting for his guitarist to grace the stage, Jarvis and a three-piece band, which included his brother Fletcher on drums, launched into ‘Whatever’ from last year’s Think Bigger.
‘Love This’ from the same album followed, and featured the first of many huge, rousing choruses that drew the adoring masses into voice, but was immediately one-upped by the undeniably catchy ‘Sure As Hell Not Jesus’.
Cosmo Jarvis cut a hulking and imposing figure on stage, but proved to be softly spoken and obviously appreciative to the welcoming crowd. Jarvis is effortlessly charming, and the in-between song banter was drenched with self-deprecation and short-lived stories, only assisting his lovable larrikin-type personality, and contrary to his own remarks, is a natural frontman that commands attention.
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The middle of the set saw a slew of new material, primarily off the ‘They Don’t Build Hearts Like They Used To’ EP, which is currently exclusively available only at these Australian shows. The likes of ‘99.99’ and ‘The Part Where I Fall Down’, which Jarvis announced was the first time the band had played it live, fit in seamlessly with the set as a whole, and show great promise for his next album, due for release early next year.
Cosmo Jarvis’ music defies a set genre, traversing through the bright indie pop of ‘Sunshine’, the playfulness and cheek of ‘She Doesn’t Mind’ and the heavy, rip-roaring rock featuring screamed vocals seen on ‘My Day’. It’s this diversity and constant change that ensured the set, which continued for well over two hours, never had a dull or uninteresting moment.
A small section of obnoxious fans continually requested Jarvis’ breakthrough song, and far and away his biggest hit, ‘Gay Pirates’, in nearly every song break, and the 24-year-old finally addressed them by simply saying: “We’ll play it, just later, otherwise everyone will leave”. It was disappointing that the multi-talented frontman had to clarify this, and must prove tiresome for the band, with Jarvis’ other material more than matching his biggest song, but not yet finding the same market.
This was further evidenced with Jarvis’ quip before playing ‘Train Downtown’, saying that “it was gonna be a single but then it wasn’t cause no one would play it”. It’s this blunt and unrestrained honesty that only serves to add to the appeal and charms of Cosmo Jarvis.
‘Good Citizen’ was dedicated to Tony Soprano, before Jarvis donned an acoustic guitar for ‘Look At The Sky’, a savage parody of the music industry and its demands, which he has so often defied.
And then it was ‘that’ song. ‘Gay Pirates’ finally appeased the joyful audience’s wishes, and proved to be a brilliant live song: it’s catchy, infectious, and its message has never been more relevant, but most of all it’s a simple, touching love song.
The entire Melbourne crowd proved Jarvis wrong by sticking around after ‘Gay Pirates’ for an encore comprising of some older material, including fan-favourite ‘Mel’s Song’, and the set-closer ‘My Day’, which brought the night to a roaring conclusion.
Playing an impressively long set of well over two hours, the band and audience alike seemed like they wanted it to just keep going, and Jarvis ensured they got more than their money’s worth.
It was a set that showcased the singer-songwriter’s full and broad range of talents, one that swapped genres seamlessly from song to song, and one that ensured Cosmo Jarvis will once again be welcomed with open arms on his next, hopefully soon, visit to Australia.
