Nothing But Thieves, Fyre Byrd @ HQ Complex, Adelaide 10/2/2019
Nothing But Thieves are an incredible band and on the live front they are proving to be a formidable force right around the world. If music lovers aren’t paying attention they will be now. It was such a great moment for Adelaide when Nothing But Thieves announced that they would be playing at HQ Complex, I honestly thought it would be one of those bands that I really dig but will never get to see in my hometown. Like the rest of the crowd there I was pretty excited to finally be able to see them play. The place was packed and all sort of stacking people on top of each other I don’t know how they crammed everyone in.
It was a great opportunity for local outfit Fyre Byrd to open proceedings and play in front of a huge crowd who seemed really receptive to their music. Fyre Byrd have so much potential and make a lot of the right noises that sounds ever so good. They have been on our radar for a while now and with singles such as Take Me Out their future looks full of promise.
There was plenty of loud and raucous cheers when Nothing But Thieves took to the stage and I don’t think front man Conor Mason could hide his smile of appreciation from the adulation of the Adelaide fans there. The sound mix took a little bit to get right but that took nothing away from the band’s performance. Right from the opening song I Was Just A Kid you could just tell it was going to be one of those gigs you couldn’t miss without kicking yourself later on. The crowd were in fine singing the songs back to the band. It wasn’t until after Ban All The Music and Wake Up Call where Mason said they were glad to be in Adelaide for the first time. Sporting a pair of overalls it might have been easy to confuse him as a tradie engaged to work of the plumbing rather than fronting one of the world’s most exciting alternative rock acts.
Big single Take This Lonely Heart was thrown in for good measure and Mason reflected that after their first couple of shows for the year it was good to be back. Broken Machine was awesome and so to was I’m Not Made By Design. Particles was a great moment in the set and the big single Trip Switch was fantastic. Their relatively new EP What Did You Think When You Made Me This Way? is a winner which featured You Know Me Too Well (described by Mason as a song that means a lot to them) and Forever And Ever More. Finishing on Sorry Mason said this was a serious song and that we should wipe the grins off our faces.
Returning for an encore Mason said how much they Australia and that they would be back real soon. The fans on the floor found that second wind and the crowd surfers were up and away on Itch and their epic single Amsterdam. Bloody great! Look forward to when Nothing But Thieves return and don’t forget a little ‘ole place called Adelaide.
Live Review by Rob Lyon