14 August 2024 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words and pictures by Bec Lee
It’s shoegaze season again, with Jesus and Mary Chain recently in Brisbane and Ride returning to our shores, promoting their new album Interplay. Singer Mark Gardener has been on Double J as guest DJ, and they’ve done two packed out shows in Melbourne.
All I can say is damn the Ekka and damn the rain! I’m hoping these were the reasons The Tivoli was only half-full. Admittedly, it was a bit of a drag going out into the rain and by chance, the venue is stone’s throw from the home of the Ekka (Brisbane Showgrounds); perhaps people were avoiding going anywhere near that part of town. Whatever the reason, the only good thing about less people is that we all got to see our favourite Oxford band a bit more clearly from anywhere in the venue.
Support was a short set from US band Mercury Rev, who I recall seeing at Leeds Festival in the UK in 2002. They are powerful live, really enjoyable to listen to and singer Jonathan Donahue looks to have not aged a day. He’s very dapper in a velvet hat and buttoned jacket and he’s all smiles, with vocals similar at times to Flaming Lip’s Wayne Coyne. Donahue thanks the audience warmly and tells us it’s been an honour to tour with Ride.
Mercury Rev – Tivoli – photos by Bec Lee
Half an hour later, Ride casually arrives on stage to whoops and cheers, and a woman at the front screams “The boys are back in town!”.
This is a massively different experience from the last time we saw Ride in Brisbane, because that was the Nowhere 30th Anniversary tour and we were lucky enough to hear the “old stuff;” as well as some gems from the second album Going Blank Again. On this occasion, understandably the band want to play their new album, and play it they did!
You can see (and hear) they are super proud of the latest material and so they should be, it’s a really decent album and enough to satisfy fans who instantly recognise Andy Bell’s guitar style, with Gardener’s vocals sounding more mature than earlier albums.
Ride – Tivoli – photos by Bec Lee
The Interplay-heavy set comprises of current single ‘Peace Sign’ and album tracks ‘I Came to See the Wreck’, ‘Last Night I Went Somewhere to Dream’, ‘Portland Rocks’, and ‘Last Frontier’, breaking it up with 1992’s ‘Cool Your Boots’. I start to wonder if they’re completely avoiding early singles, when the thumping intro to ‘Taste’ fills the air, with those unforgettable backing vocals that dominated Ride’s debut, Nowhere.
Also from the first album is the awesome ‘Vapour Trail’, satisfying the oldies in the audience a little more until the encore, when I am very happy to hear the first few notes of ‘Leave Them All Behind’ one of the highlights from my favourite Ride album, 1992’s Going Blank Again.
An underrated band who are better live now than they ever were, I’d also like to shout out to Loz Colbert’s superior drumming. I was watching him when I was shooting in the pit and he’s truly awesome, and very much part of the reason the band are so good live. Ride, shall we see you again in another 2 years? I do hope so.
