Welsh rock veterans Stereophonics performed at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre last Saturday as a part of their ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ tour. Striding into their second decade with seven albums, it was an amazing show for fans that have been waiting for another tour since March 2008.
Supported by local group, One Single Female, the fully-packed patrons were more than ready for their Stereophonics fix by the time the strapping-dressed Welshman glided on stage at about nine o’clock. There is something obvious about seasoned performers – they are confident, suave and ooze natural charisma and entertain effortlessly. This is exactly how this show felt.
Kick-starting with tracks off their new album, Keep Calm & Carry On, was a nice warm up for their more subdued tracks like ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ and ‘Have A Nice Day’, and formidable masterpiece ‘Mr. Writer’. Front-man Kelly Jones shared that ‘Mr. Writer’ “took 10 years to explain’’. I think this was the only translation I could garner from his thick accent during the night.
It was an intimate performance, with an extravagant lighting design like that of Muse’s performance from this year’s Big Day Out circuit. The volume was at least 30 decibels higher than what I had anticipated and the Guns & Roses cover presented a surprising twist. This exciting concert went on for a couple of hours, with a powerful encore of three songs, finishing with ‘The One’. Lack of oxygen aside, this gig made my month.
Due to overwhelming response, they performed a second gig on Sunday 18th April at The Metro Theatre. Here’s hoping you got to go.
