Neck Deep, Yours Truly @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 9/9/2023
You ever go to a show and everyone is just happy? Everyone is smiling, laughing and having a good time? That vibe is what pores through the Adelaide venue tonight. Pure unadulterated happiness.
For our Saturday night is spent with the return of Welsh upstarts Neck Deep after five years and Sydney’s own tornado of joy, Yours Truly. Both, effervescent, energetic waves of joy.
The chandelier lit venue of Hindley Street Music Hall is one of Adelaide’s most visually accessible and great sounding venue with everyone in position ready to go.
Yours Truly open with Siamese Souls and immediately vocalist Mikaila Delgado owns the stage.
Bruises has the crowd singing louder than Delgado who doesn’t stop the entire night, rampaging around the stage like her own version of the tornado from Wizard Of Oz.
Lights On has the audience clapping and High Hopes raises the decibels with the audience vocals.
Having followed the band from playing pubs at West Thebby four years ago to now gracing, once again, Hindley Street Music Hall, I’m never failed to be amazed at the powerful energy and electricity that their live shows produce. Hard working and talented, it’s a winning combination as Delgado throws her ear monitors away and loses herself in the performance during closer Walk Over My Grave.
Neck Deep meanwhile watch from the wings, five years in the making, and plan their assault back on Australia turf. Turf that the band mention was their first overseas tour back in 2013 and ten years later, well the room is packed, warmed up and ready to get loose.
The five-piece explode immediately and singer Ben Barlow has the crowd so worked up that security themselves can’t cope with Barlow jumping into the crowd to hand the microphone to a lucky punter. The scene is set.
Tracks like Lowlife have so much energy and vibrancy that the venue is rocking. Words are sung, hands waved, crowds surfed.
While they do have a discography’s going back over ten years, Neck Deep do dabble back to their first EP for songs What Did You Expect? and I Couldn’t Wait to Leave 6 Months Ago which are greeted with cheers usually saved for an encore.
Circle pits break for STFU. Heartbreak Of The Century hits the mark while Take Me With You has countless people sitting on shoulders singing to the sky.
A quick fire three song encore finishing with a rambunctious In Bloom and everyone, still laughing, smiling and dare I say it, happy, leave having being involved in one giant musical example of dopamine from Yours Truly and Neck Deep.
Live Review By Iain McCallum