26 April 2023 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – words by Gabrielle Ross – pictures by Nicole Matthews
It was a brisk Wednesday evening as punters filed through the double doors of The Fortitude Music Hall. The line for the venue, which weaved its way through Brisbane Valley strip was equally matched by the line for the merch stand! With a sold out venue and now a sold out merch stand, punters knew they were in for a treat this evening.
Brisbane band and opening act, Full Flower Moon Band hit the stage dripping with rock’n’roll riz. Their self described “Alternatively deadpan, sinister and coaxing” sound did just that, coaxing new listeners and fans alike to dance and sway to their alt rock, guitar heavy sound. Frontwoman ‘Babyshakes Dillon’s’ languorous voice caressed the soundscape of the venue, accompanied by a steady rock tempo and sultry rhythmic licks. Full Flower Moon Band is all red wine, cigarettes and rock’n’roll, leaving punters with swaying hips and their name on their lips.
Thunderous bass, electric riffs and cascades of applause, Nothing But Thieves had exploded onto the Fortitude Music Hall stage, the audience erupting as the headliner for the evening kicked off their set with ‘Futureproof’ followed by a smoother than smooth transition into their high energy rock hit ‘Is Everybody Going Crazy’.
The energy scended forth into the scoundscape was infectious, you could tell that Nothing But Thieves was happy to be back as choruses of fans sang along to every verse. Conor Mason (lead vocalist) grooved and danced to the guitar infused breakdowns, lending his microphone to punters as they tried to match his heart melting vocals, before cracking a smile while prompting showing us all how it was fucking done!
Nothing But Thieves were hell bent on playing an insanely impressive show, their musical talents on full display! Their wonderfully soulful and diverse set was jam packed with everything from their best gyrating alt rock hits layered between trance-inducing synth rock-pop anthems ‘Real Love Song’ and ‘Soda’ before turning the tempo back up with ‘Life’s Coming in Slow’.
James Price led with snappy precision on the drums, while Phil Blake’s bass reverberated in-between screaming bluesy rock riffs courtesy of Joe Langridge-Brown and Dom Craik. A show for all of the senses, Mason’s vocals were on fine point this evening, his reverberating falsettos blessing the ears of punters, spine tingling and jelly leg inducing as he belted ‘Miracle, Baby’ and ‘Particles’.
A new rock earworm was set to surprise fans this evening, ‘City Haunts’, something off of the new record that Nothing But Thieves had been hard at work on for the past five months. Teasing their audience with this was almost criminal, a small taster of what is yet to come, fans absorbed every delicious lick of the guitar heavy track.
An absolutely heart palpitating lead into ‘Unperson’, followed by a heavy breakdown had fans screaming every lyric.‘Phobia’ was followed with Mason asking if anyone had a beer before promptly pressuring Blake to down a shoey on stage, which he did, in champion form from his very own boot amidst cheers and screams from punters! Swinging into the beautiful song ‘Sorry’ ‘Nothing But Thieves’ soon finished their set with their floor shattering, mosh-inducing hit ‘Amsterdam’!
Calls for an encore echoed throughout the venue, before fans were met with the haunting vocals of Mason welcoming us to the ‘Dead Club City’, with ‘Welcome to the DCC’! Synth and bass reign supreme with this epic groover as the pit rolled with waves of movement. Nothing But Thieves led us through an heart shattering finisher with ‘Impossible’, fans joined in with Mason as he belted out the chorus, but his vocals remained unmatched, echoing haunting throughout the Fortitude Music Hall. Wow.
A slow yet epic end for the evening Nothing But Thieves was welcomed back to Australia by their devotees with open arms, ears and hearts and it was comforting to know that they will be back to play for us again soon.
