Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever @ The Palais, Riverbank, Adelaide 16/3/2019
The word is out about one of Australia’s most exciting musical prospects the Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. The line to get in sprawled down the Riverbank and you couldn’t help but feel the anticipation of what was to come on this very night. The Palais is a sensational venue and let’s hope there’s plenty of fight to keep this as an on going concern. There’s not any venue in Adelaide that boasts the picturesque Adelaide cityscape as the backdrop to what was an awesome show.
For me, this is the most excited I have been in a long time about a new band and they there’s no doubt that they are set for one incredible ride as they ready themselves to take on the world. The majority of their kick arse set focuses mostly on their debut album Hope Downs. They look good, sound tight and play an awesome tune with their brand of surf rock complete with jangly riffs and driving guitars. Right from the outset there’s plenty to get excited about with The Hammer followed by Clean State.
It’s right about now that I’m thinking about purchasing the entire back catalogue on vinyl as I’m that impressed. The EP’s Talk Tight and French Press are great additions to the collection with some of those getting an airing. There’s no messing about playing one solid tune after another and with the looming curfew in mind they gave Adelaide fans a really good introduction to what they are all about.
The highlights reel for me includes the likes of Wither With You, Sick Bug, Exclusive Grace and Bellarine. Talking Straight and An Air Conditioned Man prove popular with bassist Joe Russo playing the bass so hard that running repairs were required. Interestingly Talking Straight was dedicated to Mark Ricciuto (we’ll leave that there!).
The main set finished in a blaze of glory with songs such as Mainland, Fountain Of Good Fortune and French Press proving that they’ll be main stayers in the live set for some time to come. Returning for a encore the night finished on Wide Eyes and no doubt the buzz will continue around Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever until they tour again which they promised later in the year. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are the real deal, get on board!
Adelaide Festival Review By Rob Lyon