Pseudo Echo, DJ Lezen @ The Gov, Adelaide 31/5/2024
Local artist Lezen was only afforded a few hours to prepare for his support slot, but you wouldn’t know it as he delivered a slick set of beats. You could tell he was stoked to be supporting one of Australia’s finest new wave acts from the 80’s, sampling some of the best of the era including Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Michael Jackson, INXS, Kate Bush, New Order and more, all remixed to get the crowd moving alongside a few of Lezen’s own compositions. Lezen made easy work of getting the crowd pumped up and ready, definitely a local talent to keep an eye out for.
Morphing right into the headliner would have made great sense at this point to keep the crowd moving, instead of the longer than needed break we received. No matter though, as it wasn’t long before we were reminded why we were there in the first place.
Tonight was a celebration, forty years of Pseudo Echo. Forty years of chart busters, changes in musical styles, multiple line ups, crazy haircuts and more, with Brian Canham there at The Gov to celebrate all of it and more along with their faithful fans, as the Pseuds rocked out the packed venue on the local leg of their Machine Tour.
Opening the show with Stranger In Me, His Eyes and Destination Unknown, all from their 1982 debut, Autumnal Park, we were taken back to where it all started and digging through their hits and album cuts, Canham showed a deep passion for his music, as he was clearly enjoying every moment of being on stage to play his songs, alongside members of the latest incarnation of the band.
Co-members of the original line-up Pierre Pierre, Tony Lugton and later Anthony Argiro have all moved on over the years, but there was a real fire in the current group, featuring Canham alongside Matty Ray on Keytar, James Mudd on guitar, Abigail Lula on drums, Valentina Taylor on backing vocals and Paul Cecchinelli on bass keyboards, this group was tight and really lifted the music. Speaking of the musos in the band, I’d be remiss in not calling out Canham, who himself is no slouch on guitar and ripped out some blistering solos alongside his powerful vocals.
The set was chockers, Over Tomorrow from the under-appreciated Race album, Love An Adventure, Don’t Go, Living In A Dream, Listening and more were among the many hits, along with a fun latter day reworking of Nutbush City Limits and Real Life’s Send Me An Angel, all rounded out by the Pseuds biggest hit, set closer Funky Town, which provided the night’s biggest moments, as the crowd went crazy singing along, before the band took a huge left turn to deliver the heaviest version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap I’ve ever heard live, including that of AC/DC themselves. It was a perfect shift in style and the crowd went nuts.
Let’s hope we see them again well before their fiftieth.
Live Review By Peter Lanyon