Boo Seeka emerged to a roaring room. It was clear we were about to be taken on a journey, experiencing the development of the duo’s music over the years. The live show veterans took the venue back to 2014 with their single, ‘Fool’. Paying homage to their earlier fans, Boo Seeka dived head first into a high energy show. Hitting the halfway point of their huge Australian tour, the pair had curated a tight setlist mixed with some old favourites and their debut album, Never Too Soon, in full.
Continuing with something slightly more somber, ‘Deception Bay’, began to play. Softer beats from Sam Croft allowed Ben Gumbleton’s powerful vocals to shine through. The slower number gave fans a chance to catch their breath before the energy soared high again. The opening synth sounds to ‘Humans’ stirred the crowd with a sweet, familiar sound – Gumbleton’s vocals soared throughout the room as the crowd of backup singers howled along.
Gumbleton took a second to share that the next song didn’t originally come together so easily. Coming back from drawing board the pair came up with ‘Oh My’. As the chorus broke Croft was smashing into his pads, the room jumping in time with the thumping beat. It was clearly a crowd favourite. The set came full circle, finishing on the opening track of the album, ‘Does This Last’.
Two years since they last performed at 170 Russell, the electro-soul duo have become well-rehearsed, slick, live performers. Vocalist and guitarist, Gumbleton was so comfortable and confident on stage, moving with such enthusiasm that it was incredible to believe he was still able to meet his cues so flawlessly.
The pair gave a tremendous effort recreating their debut album in a live setting. Listening to the album digitally you can start to unpack all the layers working so seamlessly together. However, watching the album put together in front of your eyes, you can see Book Seeka haven’t skimped on effort. Listening at home, Boo Seeka’s sound is chilling and calming. Together they took that, turned the volume and energy to 100, exceeding its dance party potential. A crowd hungry for a big long weekend was happily satisfied.
Highlight: Gumbleton dancing incredibly and still managing to play guitar.
Lowlight: The security guard telling me I should smile more.
Crowd Favourite: ‘Oh My’, the peak of the night’s dance party.
