Leisure, Neon Tetra @ Rocket Bar, Adelaide 14/9/2019
A warm Saturday night in Adelaide and one of the funkiest bands was in town ready to play their cool brand of groovy tunes to a dedicated crowd in Rocket Bar. To hype up the crowd, DJs Sam and Louis played all things disco. Mixing the jive beat of Stayin’ Alive to modern day dance tunes and making them funkier then really impressing by playing the 2012 Solange hit Losing You which I’m sure we all haven’t heard played in a club in a long time.
The support act was five-piece Adelaide band Neon Tetra bringing their jazzy pop rock to the stage with energy and fun. The crowd were grooving with delight to The End Begin Again, River of Love and So Far from Me. Sadly lead singer Josh Allen announced this was to be his last gig in Adelaide and within the next month the final with the band.
Leisure just oozed funk and soul. The whole band was in sync with each other and the way they effortlessly shared vocals blending them together to create a smooth flow of harmonies was a pleasure to watch. Their latest album released, Twister is a sexy, funky chilled offering and translates well live. To get the crowd ready for a night of cool vibes they started with the dancey On My Mind then getting all smooth with the instantly catchy Man. Asking everyone “Are you guys ready for a little boogie tonight?” they flawlessly morphed into Money setting off some slow shuffling dance moves from the enthusiastic crowd.
The vibe was chilled, the beats were strong and the vocals from each band member were infectious. The crowd cheered and sang along to Hot Love, Got It Bad, Take it to the Top and Know You Better from their 2016 self-titled album giving us some older tunes satisfying diehard fans.
The strumming beats of S.L.Y, the reggae feels of Easy Way Out and the pumped-up beats of Feeling Free, got the crowd all revved up while Alone Together and Control Myself brought back the slower chilled groove before finishing with All Over You.
Being the first time in Adelaide, it was a blast to see the guys perform live. Leisure know how to create a cool dance vibe with chilled beats. The crowd got lost in the music so let’s hope they come back again soon.
Live REeview by Anastasia Lambis