You Am I @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 2/5/2025
In short: One night only! You Am I rocked Adelaide!
As a die hard You Am I fan that goes back following a long way, some thirty years, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else knowing that You Am I was in town. This was a terrific gig with the band in vintage red hot form that still has plenty of fire in the belly and no doubt there is still plenty to come for this much beloved band. The affinity for this band is that strong the VIP turnout was the largest in Australia for the entire tour.
Promoted as The Hi Fi Daily Double Down Tour was focused on two of their classic albums Hi Fi Way and Hourly Daily. Even for the most devout You Am I fan it is a tough choice to decide the better of the two album because there is so much to love about both that sets them apart. With the band celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Hi Fi Way (re-released on neon blue vinyl) in February it is one of those albums that has stood the test of time packed full of endearing qualities and would be considered as one of Australia’s greatest albums of all time. For me, I was well beyond excited for this tour which exceeded all expectations, mind blown.
When you are as good a band as You Am I there is no need for a support even though on every tour they have paved the way for so many upcoming and established bands but tonight the spotlight was very much on Tim Rogers, Andy Kent, Rusty Hopkinson and Davey Lane.
The first set was all about Hourly Daily, earning six ARIA’s, in its splendour from start to end. Wow! The title track, even lyrically, is just as relevant now as it ever has been, but the way they played this was stellar. Andy played his bass with a bow giving it that double bass sound almost replicating the cello on the record and keyboardist James Fleming was a welcomed addition to the touring line up. Singles Good Mornin’ and Mr Milk were brilliant and just seeing how these two songs alone connect and resonate with the fans is awesome to watch. These songs quite clearly are about life in Australian through Tim’s eyes. Davey Lane’s influence on this band is enormous, I reckon I could watch Rusty Hopkinson drum every day of the week and Andy Kent battled hard valiantly with a bad case of the flu.
Tuesday with Across the Universe by The Beatles in the intro was awesome as was If We Can’t Get It Together and Flag Fall $1.80. “Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it Paul Dempsey? Is there anything that guy can’t do? Tim proclaimed before rolling in to Wally Raffles. Tim said “thanks for your patience being here, we would be here regardless, but it’s nicer with y’all here’ adding and describing Heavy Comfort as a miserable biography. He also described Hourly Daily as a strange record and thanking everyone who has come along for the ride. Baby Clothes with a teaser of Bowie’s Suffragette City was ace then followed by Someone Else’s Home. “Dazzle these people with amateur blues Andy Kent,” was full of flu but the way he played you hardly know it and was not going to let sickness get in the way of cancelling the show, led the way on Please Don’t Ask Me To Smile. Asked to consider roadies as “prospective consensual sexual partners” it was Moon Shines On Trubble and Who Takes Who Home topping set one off with the super popular Trike with a teaser of hidden track Forget It Sister.
With a “fourteen minute” intermission the band returned for the second set which was focused on Hi Fi Way. With outfit changes Tim described himself as Blanche from the Golden Girls. With “let’s do this shit” they ploughed through Ain’t Gone And Open, Minor Byrd and She Digs Her. Cathy’s Clown was bold and the Adam’s Rib as the outro was brilliant. With the songs a bit shorter in length there is something still quite raw, primal and powerful with these songs, bloody brilliant! Jewels and Bullets and Purple Sneakers stood tall and were amongst the show highlights.
Pizza Guy is one of those forgotten gems and cult classic Applecross Wing Commander is always fantastic to hear live. The infectious charm of Stray went down a treat and Tim gave some of his own insights behind Handwasher and “don’t self medicate otherwise end up like this.” Lyrically deep and so much to take away from this one. The remainder of the set finished in a flurry on Punkarella, Ken, Gray and the anthemic How Much Is Enough? Thirty songs! Enormous! We could have been satisfied with our fill but they returned for an encore kicking off with a snippet of Silverchair’s Straight Lines before Opportunities (which appeared on the international version of Hourly Daily). Rumble was so good and with the band started with the Stones Brown Sugar, with Tim jokingly saying “oops, wrong show” powering their way home on the iconic Berlin Chair.
There is no questioning the legacy of these two albums which continues to grow and fans could leave pretty ecstatic with what was experienced. I know I was! Now, we wait for what comes next for our beloved You Am I. GbTfLoU!
Live Review By Rob Lyon