Gracing the Palace stage before the eagerly anticipated headliner are locals Sand Pebbles, a six piece group consisting of three guitars, bass, keyboard and drums, with vocal duties shared by two of the guitarists.
Playing a mix of driving rock ‘n’ roll and breezy psychedelica, the band’s energetic and enthusiastic performance is warmly received by an appreciative crowd.
The paired vocals are highly effective in filling the few gaps left unreached by their instruments, and bluesy, spacey swamp rock sounds of their set closer shows they’re a band with some solid songwriting chops.
After what feels like an eternity, Primal Scream finally make their way on stage, opening with new track “2012”, a dynamic tune with shades of Screamadelica-era psychedelics, trailed by the equally frenetic “Swastika Eyes”.
Rapidly flashing strobes pointed at the crowd combine with the pumping music to quickly and effectively warm up the audience before the band launch into the crowd favourite “Movin’ On Up”, played in a rockier style than the original, which goes down a treat.
The following cover of the 13th Floor Elevators’ “Slip Inside This House” is dedicated to “anyone tripping on acid or mushrooms” (and what better place to do so than a Primal Scream gig?) as the band really begin to heat up; but unfortunately the noise of “Accelerator” from the band’s Kevin Shields-era XTRMNTR doesn’t quite hit the mark.
One of Primal Scream’s great strengths is that despite being an older band, unlike many others of their vintage, they’ve maintained the youthful energy they begun with and are still capable of putting on a riveting live show.
Dedicated to late Melbourne legend Roland S. Howard, the gentle and moving balladry of “Damaged” adds another string to the group’s bow, showing they’re more than simply a party act.
Now midway through their set, the band take the opportunity to play a couple of new tracks, titled “Relativity” and “It’s Alright, That’s OK”.
The former starts as a building anthem of rolling toms before bursting into a frenzied chorus, and finishes on a soft, smooth, steady beat with psychedelic guitar washes and accordion, surprisingly reminiscent of R.E.M. “It’s Alright, That’s OK” is quite a treat for the fans, as this is the first tour on which the band have played the new song.
Harking back to the combination of groovy percussion and bass and soulful vocals of “Movin’ On Up”, it’s a highly danceable track that’s likely to be a future favourite.
The band close out their main set with the acid-house “Come Together” and the rollicking “Country Girl”, which are lapped up with equal vigour by a crowd that is well and truly won over by the veterans’ committed performance.
Primal Scream return to the stage to perform an encore, starting with the ballad “I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have”, which ends with what every great rock ‘n’ roll ballad does: a raucous jam with a screeching guitar solo.
This is trailed by the irresistibly dance-able “Loaded” and the blues-rock of “Jailbird”, and the group finish the night with the eternal hit “Rocks” which, as expected, has the whole crowd in a state of ecstasy.
While one must take into consideriation how long Primal Scream have been around for, it’s a testament to the band’s talent that so many of their songs are so good and so well received by such a loving audience.
Having reached an age that many bands can only dream of, it’s commendable that the group are still touring at all, let alone with the fantastic levels of energy and gusto they emit tonight.
