Slowly Slowly, Between You & Me, Oscar The Wild @ The Gov, Adelaide 18/5/2023
Slowly Slowly are a class act and having recently finished the Groovin’ The Moo festival run last month it was on to their own headline tour to support their new album Daisy Chain. They were impressive then and they well truly trumped that at their own headline show at The Gov. Building the intensity of their set they came home like a freight train powering their way through the set.
Joined by two quality support acts in Oscar The Wild and Between You & Me provided for a solid night of music. Adelaide band Oscar The Wild are definitely rising in stature and no doubt there are even bigger things in store in front of them playing their unique brand of grunge/ indie-pop. Current single Pinch Me Please is a beauty and make sure you check them out gigging around town.
Between You & Me played a scorching set to well and truly warm the stage. Gig hardened having spent April on tour in the US with Knuckle Puck and Real Friends it was a real hour of power. Arguably they are worthy of headline status as they definitely raised the bar. Acknowledging that they were happy to be home their set was full of hits from the likes of Butterflies, Nevermind to Deadbeat and finishing on Dakota.
Slowly Slowly in short were fantastic. The connection they share with their fans is really something to behold with their fans riding the journey that their set took. Opening with Daisy Chain front man Ben Stewart said that it had been a hot minute since they were last here in Adelaide. Alchemy followed by new tunes Moving Trains and Holding My Breath were great. Stewart took a moment to reflect on the last time they played The Gov as a support band to Something For Kate remembering that there was no barrier like this night which he described as ‘terrifying’.
The problem that Slowly Slowly are going to have playing live is trying to fit all these good songs in their set list and this show was no different. It was literally one great song after another and for me one of the many highlights was Stewart playing Medicine and Paper Mache acoustic offering plenty of light and shade in their set. The crowd found plenty of voice in Medicine and similarly on Achilles’ Heel. God was a beauty with a nod to musical hero Tim Rogers and Race Car Blues was a big moment in the set.
Hard to believe how quickly time was whizzing by as the band were charging to the finish line. There were plenty of salvos to be fired with Ten Leaf Clover. After Longshot Stewart said that the stage was not big enough to contain them as they were really in to it and feeling the music as they bumped in to each other needing to find a seat after to catch his breath. Forget You was solid as was ‘the fucking fish song’ where Stewart said their was a proposal at the Perth show and tonight in Adelaide would be ‘the live vasectomy’. Jellyfish was fantastic and the crowd were really in to it in a big way. With no encore the band finished in fine fashion with Nothing On, Creature Of Habit Pt. 2 and their big single Blueprint. If Slowly Slowly are playing a show near you go and check ’em out as it is a fantastic night.
Live Review By Rob Lyon