Support acts Allison Weiss, Ceres and Joyce Manor had the crowd ready and rearing by the time The Smith Street Band were due to take the stage. A black sheer curtain with The Smith Street Band scrawled across it veiled the stage as anticipation heightened. Finally, the curtain dropped and The Smith Street Band ripped straight into Suffer followed by Song For You. Wagner greeted fans, shouting “We’re The Smith Street Band and we’re from just up the fucking road.”
The Smith Street Band played ferociously, sweat flew as ripples of bass trembled through the floor and a wall of sound smashed into the crowd. The set contained the perfect balance of tracks from the new album and old favourites, with The Smith Street Band reaching into their extensive catalogue of hits and pulling out classics such as Surrender, The Arrogance Of The Drunk Pedestrian and Get High, See Mice.
Between songs, Wagner chatted to the crowd like he would a close friend, divulging that one of the first gigs he ever attended was Arcade Fire at The Forum. He confessed that it was then that he decided he would one day play on that stage, and watching his performance it was evident that he was relishing the moment. Clearly ecstatic to be playing to the sold out theatre, Wagner’s smile barely left his lips and he occasionally chuckled as he sang, which was a slightly bizarre contrast considering the heavy lyrics of most of the songs, but his joy was infectious nonetheless.
The crowd swayed and chanted along with Wagner through old and new tracks like Young Drunk, Death To The Lads and Birthdays. The singalong continued as Wagner called Ceres frontman Tom Lanyon back to the stage to help belt out the vocals on Run Into The World.
The security guards had their work cut out for them, constantly fishing crowd surfers from the mosh, with one sneaky punter even managing to get on stage and dance next to Wil Wagner before diving into the crowd.
The night was a mixed bag of emotions, at one point Wagner tearfully discussed his recent struggle with mental health before launching into a heartfelt rendering of I Don’t Wanna Die Anymore. As always, each song was delivered with sincere passion that brought them to life.
The intensity of the performance never wavered, with guitarists Lee Hartney and Michael Fitzgerald shredding through riffs, drummer Chris Cowburn smashing his kit like there was no tomorrow and Wagner dancing across the stage and singing straight from the heart. The show wrapped up with Young Once, but the crowd wasn’t letting them off that easy, chanting for more before being granted a three song encore.
If one thing is certain, The Smith Street Band know how to work a crowd. It was the kind of performance that gives you everything you wanted, but still compels you to go home and listen to their discography on repeat for a week.
Highlight: Wil Wagner’s between song banter. I could listen to him talk all day.
Lowlight: Too many drunk dickheads.
Crowd Favourite: Death To The Lads.
