Pond @ Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide 27/6/2024
This was a seriously good gig at Lion Arts Factory! Western Australian indie rockers Pond are riding high after the release of their tenth album Stung. If it wasn’t sold out it would have been incredibly close and how could anyone knock back a chance to experience Pond in red hot form. They were here at The Drive back in February with Queens Of The Stone back in February and they were impressive then so seeing a whole lot more was tops. Their set spanned ninety minutes and was a blend of old and new which hung together seamlessly.
There is definitely something so captivating about these psychedelic rockers that it is hard to take your eyes off them and their front man Nick Allbrook has all the moves and swagger that kept the show entertaining just with the way he throws himself around the stage. Opening with a “hello Adelaide, thanks for having us” the starting couple of tunes start in familiar territory with Daisy (off Tasmania) and America’s Cup (off 9).
The new album is a ripper and as Molly would say “do yourself a favour” with Adelaide beiong treated to (I’m) Stung and Neon River from it. Allbrook spoke about how much he loves this city (Adelaide!) saying it was your “Shelbyville to your Springfield” having better pubs, being a two team town and having a “fuck load of churches”. It was an another oldie in Sweep Me Off My Feet with was followed by more newies in So Lo, Black Lung and Constant Picnic. Allbrook might be a star in his own right but the back is loaded with talent with the mercurial Jay “GUM” Watson (synths, keys, guitar and drums), “Shiny” Joe Ryan (guitar), James “Gin” Ireland (drums) and Jamie Terry (Bass).
Set staples Human Touch and the “cheerleader vibe in exercising those hips” of Paint Me Silver were killer as was Aloneaflameaflower off Hobo Rocket was awesome. No moments of weakness, just set list loaded with great songs with the challenge being what to leave out. Giant Tortoise/ Torn Asunder was that moment where Allbrook with help of the crowd was able to crowd surf his way from the stage, to the back, high five the sound tech and crowd surf his way back to the stage to finish the song. Allbrook asked the crowd that “if anyone felt anything weird to report it to his GP” playing the final song of the set Toast.
As the band went backstage for the encore break it seemed as if they had the energy to play for a few more hours. Returning for an encore it was the popular tunes Hang A Cross On Me and Don’t Look At The Sun Or You’ll Go Blind that brought this seriously good show to a close. Very much looking forward to a return visit before the year is out.
Live Review By Rob Lyon