23 September 2022 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – review by Luci Scott – pictures by Justin Gittins
Friday night, I was treated to a fantastic night of music at The Fortitude Music Hall when The Smith Street Band brought their 2022 Australian tour to town along with support from; Money Boys and Bad Neighbour. 2020 hit us all hard; countless rescheduled shows are only now coming around; The Smith Street Band’s Australian tour was one of those shows many of us have been waiting for since the beginning of the pandemic. With touring having looked quite different over the past few years, it is great to feel like things are finally returning to normal.
Starting the night off with a stunning display of Brisbane talent was fantastic. Bad Neighbour, making their humble beginnings at local venues such as Tomcat and Greaser Bar, rocked the house down at The Fortitude Music Hall on Friday night from the second they started their set. Bad Neighbour had the crowd excited, singing along and moving from the first song – a feat not seen often with an opening band! Coming to this show, I was not all too familiar with the bands playing, but WOW, these guys were phenomenal, and I will be sure to be checking them out again.
Moving along with what felt like one of the quickest changeovers between bands I’ve seen in a long time, Money Boys came bounding out. Straight out of Melbourne, Money Boys were a seriously entertaining part of the evening. Money Boy’s lead singer jumped straight into their set in the shortest footy shorts I’ve ever seen on stage. As I stood in the 2nd row with some friends, we were worried we would be getting more than we paid for at a few points thanks to those shorts. These resulted in lots of laughs as we enjoyed every song graced upon us by Money Boys.
Before coming to this show, I had not ever seen The Smith Street Band before, nor did I know many of their songs – HOWEVER, after Friday night, I would 100% call myself a fan of this band!
The First few songs left me in absolute awe of the talent coming out of Will Wagner (Lead Vocals) and wondering why I had never really listened to them.
By their 4th song of the set, I was already falling in love with this band. ‘Birthdays’ struck a chord with me as it is the exact type of music I have been digging lately with my listening; the soft yet strong guitar tones and lovely gentle lyrics took me from enjoying a show to loving it.
A setlist of 18 songs made this concert feel like a very long one, and there were many stand-out songs that The Smith Street Band gave us on Friday, with one of the many being ‘I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore’. ‘I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore’ perfectly blended a dynamic yet emotional array of lyrics with a pure bliss of movement-centred sound.
After ‘I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore’ came several slower, sadder songs. During these, I somehow migrated around the centre of the Music Hall, and while the song ‘Heaven’s Eleven’ played, I looked around; there were people around me screaming these lyrics back at Will and each other. Seeing these songs live, fans of The Smith Street Band connect with them on more than just a surface level; these tracks mean a lot to them. The feeling of everyone in a room of almost 3000 people connecting over the same songs is something you can’t replicate easily; listening back to these songs post-concert has made me feel so good inside as I remember these lovely moments from the evening.
The final few songs were all fun-filled, energetic masterpieces as the evening wound down. A standout of these last few songs was ‘ Death to the Lads’ with everyone around me screaming the chorus, arms around each other – an anthem that the entire crowd knew and loved with all their hearts. Ultimately the show had to come to an end, and The Smith Street Band wound their show up with their track ‘Young Drunk’. ‘Young Drunk’ felt like a Sunday afternoon in the backyard with your friends around a bbq rolled into a fantastic tune that perfectly ended a great night.
After heading out to this show, I was highly impressed by The Smith Street Band, Money Boys and Bad Neighbour; I would love to see any of these bands again if I get the chance and would recommend this band to anyone who likes to chill out to some good tunes or who wants to see a fantastic live show put on!!
