Gig Watch: The Thrills

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The Thrills were brilliant from start to finish during their Melbourne set

On the first night of the long weekend, Melbournians were faced with the option of a number of quality gigs to attend or to simply get away for the weekend.

I’ll take the liberty to say that those who opted to see The Thrills at the Hi Fi Bar on Friday night made the best of all choices.

The Thrills showed tonight that it doesn’t take a major name stadium band to put on an awesome, engaging and truly fun show. It was also their long awaited return to this country, and first tour for their latest release, "Teenager", hence an almost full venue welcomed them back.

Current Sydney 'it' band Sparkadia came on at a late 9.50 and proved to be a fitting support for the Irish quintet. They too possess a pop sound that is awash with melodies and harmonic choruses. They quickly launched into their delightful Triple J favourite Too Much To Learn which the four piece delivered with more energy and punch than on record.

The untarnished, perfect production on debut album "Postcards" was left behind tonight as the spontaneity and rawness of a live performance continued on several songs, including Morning Light and the lively Jealousy. With "Postcards" achieving JJJ’s Album of the Week a few weeks ago, the band’s support slot tonight was also very timely and handy.

A technical problem marred parts of Morning Light but Sparkadia’s choice of the upbeat Up In The Air as the set closer was an apt way to prepare the crowd for the main band.

The Thrills (or 'The Trills', to quote the band) are preceded on stage by a recorded monologue about teens and their lifestyle, a theme that runs throughout the band’s music. From opening song Big Sur, the sunny California-style pop song that projected The Thrills’ name onto the international musical landscape, energetic and personable vocalist Conor Deasy was constantly engaging the audience.

Whether it was encouraging us to clap, raise our arms or sing along, he kept at all night. He cut a handsome figure in dark jacket and pants and white top while the remaining band maintained a low profile, dressed in casual pants and shirts and focused on their instruments all night.

After a genuine ‘thank you’ to the crowd the band broke into Found My Rosebud, a mild tempo song that was played with gusto and an energy that was spurred on by Deasy’s handclaps.

Admittedly (and regretfully) I’d never seen The Thrills live previously and was curious to see how they’d cut it live. With their first two albums full of gentle, easy listening bright pop and several upbeat tunes, there was the assumption that this would translate to a mellow performance. Well, tonight The Thrills proved that the beauty of live music is its ability to bring music to life.

When Deasy announced the next song – Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far) - as ‘the first song we released when we were wide eyed pups’ the crowd reacted with a big cheer and the first of many sing-alongs. A front row punter expressed his 'cheers' by handing Deasy a glass of scotch which he passed onto the only drinker among them, guitarist Daniel Ryan

We were treated with a rare live song, You Can’t Fool Old Friends With Limousines, and a host of other songs from tonight’s most represented album "Let’s Bottle Bohemia", such as Not For All The Love In The World and Saturday Night.

Employing dry humour as he described piano ballad Deckchairs & Cigarettes as sounding like Mariah Carey, then pointing out that he doesn’t have her vocal gymnastics, Deasy’s smooth, velvety, sensual vocals really came to the fore on this track.

After a bit of band chatter they turned the mike onto us and called for requests. Song titles from their three album back catalogue hit the stage left, right and centre and to the crowd’s delight they launched into One Horse Town.

After thanking Melbourne once again, they exited the stage but were cheered back on for a three song encore. The first, a song that’s made it on George Bush’s IPOD, was the silent track off "Teenagers". They ended their show in true style, leaving their most popular and animated song – yes, that song about Corey Haim – to last.

Whatever Happened To Corey Haim? had band and audience singing in unison and ended a truly impressive performance by the modest Dubliners. With punters exiting the venue mumbling ‘sooo good’, ‘great’ and ‘awesome’, it’s fair to say that The Thrills established themselves as a band definitely worth checking out when next in town. 

The Thrills have made new fans in Australia - as well as featuring on George W. Bush's iPod

Overall: 90%

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