Towards the end of Gomez’s triumphant return to a BBQ’d HQ Complex (27 March), the diminutive multi-instrumentalist Tom Gray confessed to feeling “sh*t scared” about returning to touring after such a lengthy hiatus; their last studio album was in 2011.
After a long afternoon spent sound-checking and a rapturously received two-hour set, he self-deprecatingly asserted that “we’ve still got it, lads”.
They’ve always had “it” though, right from the very beginning. Their 1998 debut 'Bring It On', which they are touring to commemorate, won the Mercury Prize.
Like The Beatles, the band is a synergy of songwriters and vocalists; like their contemporary Beck, they hop genres fusing blues guitar and the occasional bossa nova rhythm with synths and samples.
They weave such an eclectic and intricate web of sound that they tour with their own sound tech, Dave, who has been with the band since their inception. Celebrating his 50th birthday on the night, the lank-haired knob fiddler hoisted a beer can to the sky as the HQ audience serenaded him with birthday cheer.
It was a night of anniversaries, as the Southport five-piece celebrated their platinum-selling debut release by playing it in its entirety.
When the Gomez wave first broke, the gravelly voiced Ben Ottewell seemed to be a contradiction; a baby-faced and bespectacled youngster who sounded like Joe Cocker. As he came to the stage with a mountaineering beard and a well-cultivated belly, though, to sing album opener ‘Get Miles’, all was in alignment.
Ian Ball’s pure, vocal tone then followed on the sing-along ‘Whipping Picadilly’.
To use a BBQ analogy, which is apt given that the band was brought to Adelaide by the Beer and BBQ Festival promoters, Ben is the smoke, Ian is the honey glaze, Tom, Olly Peacock and Paul Blackburn are the spice and the sauce. Together, they are a feast of talent.
This gig was a reminder of the sheer quantity of hits in the band’s arsenal; tracks like ’78 Stone Wobble’, ‘Tijuana Lady’ and ‘Get Myself Arrested’ are generally show-closing encore stuffers.
‘Tijuana Lady’, a parody or pastiche of The Eagles with lyrics as corny as a plate of nachos, remains a torch song. The band was visibly moved by the raucousness of the audience’s response to ‘Get Myself Arrested’.
Once 'Bring It On' had been brought, the remainder of the set predominantly comprised of cuts from follow-up ‘Liquid Skin’; they played half a dozen tracks from that album.
Singles ‘Silence’ from 'Split The Difference', ‘Shot Shot’ from 'In Our Gun; and ‘Airstream Driver’ from 'A New Tide' were recognition of their more recent work, but this night was very much a homage to their beginnings.
It was an evening of nostalgia that Adelaide almost missed out upon, but for the intervention of Gareth Lewis and the crew at Beer and BBQ Festival. If it were not for them, Gomez diehards would have needed to get miles away from South Australia to relive the late '90s.
While members of the band now reside continents apart, their palpable joy at reuniting will hopefully ensure more regular visits down under in coming years.
Emerging SA artists Mane and Cosmo Thundercat warmed the crowd up with sets that included their pop gems ‘Chasing Butterflies’ and ‘Warning Bell’ respectively.
