It was always going to be a special night for Melbourne five-piece Ceres, who've been hard at work on their epic latest album 'We Are A Team' and released the spoils of their labour last month (26 April).
Not surprisingly, after a bit of an absence from the stage and with a home-town album launch on a Friday night (17 May), this was also always going to be a sell-out gig.
Renowned for their strong, no-fuss and emotive live show, Ceres hit the ground running and launched into one of the new set's standouts, opening cut 'Marriage'. Its epic, layered unravelling shows the ambitious new edge the band have embraced on 'We Are A Team'. Hard to believe frontman Tom Lanyon was struck down with writer's block before the album finally took shape.
A couple of other new songs starred early on – album highlight 'Collarbone, 2011' and the infectious Jimmy Eat World-tinted 'Me & You' – but it wasn't long before Ceres indulged the heaving Corner crowd with some oldies; well, sort of.
Focusing largely on 2016's 'Drag It Down On You' – much to the chagrin of some long-time fans who lament the band ignoring much that came before it – 'Roll Ur Eyes', ''91 Your House', 'Laundry Echo' and 'Happy In Your Head' rounded out the meat of the set.
And while it could be levelled that much of Ceres' set feels built around the same blueprint, if it's a good one then this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Holy sh.t, you all came!" Lanyon announced after a quickfire handful of tunes. "We're stoked!" As too was the crowd, with bodies jammed tight at the front and a sea of fists in the air throughout ("Everyone feeling safe and having a good time?" Lanyon asked without really expecting too much of an answer).
Rounding out after an hour or so, Ceres finished on crowd favourite 'Baby's Breath' and returned for a quick two-song encore featuring new tunes 'Stay Awake' and standout single 'Viv In The Front Seat' (which reportedly served as a catalyst for breaking the aforementioned writer's block).
“Does the world really need another five-piece male emo-rock band? Probably not, no," Lanyon recently mused. Perhaps not. But on this joyous Friday night in Richmond, no one was complaining.
