Everyone is a fan of Ball Park Music.
On one hand you might be die-hard going to gigs, buying all the merchandise and streaming their music relentlessly. On the other hand, you may never have heard their name, but you've heard their music (on a TV ad, while shopping, as a backing song somewhere obscure or similar).The sheer reach of the Meanjin/ Brisbane band is overwhelming; and it's obvious to see why – after 14 years and 98 released tracks, the band has left no stone unturned.
Their live show is one of the most well-rehearsed, thought-out and best-performed sets you'll ever see. Watching them is equivalent to sitting in the sun on a brisk winter day, soaking in the warmth and happiness.
After selling out The Fortitude Music Hall and playing under the guise of The Pizza’s the night prior in Brisbane, the band returned to Sunshine Coast to play NightQuarter on Saturday (4 June).
As fans rolled in, the night started off with two tremendous sets courtesy of Melbourne indie-rockers RAT!hammock, a personal favourite of mine, and five-piece Perth band King Stingray. If you've missed the hype surrounding King Stingray, you definitely need to get to one of their shows to see for yourself.
Ball Park Music - image © Harrison Innes
With such a dedicated fan base, I may have caught a glimpse of Ball Park's set list before arriving at the show, and without fault, 'Manny' opened the night. The 'Weirder And Weirder' opening track from the band's seventh studio, released a week earlier, is an alt-rock groove that hit all the right chords with an eager crowd.
Ball Park showed just how flexible they are switching up the previous night's list for a rendition of 'Bad Taste Blues III'. You could tell the connection 'Bad Taste Blues III' has with listeners, being such a simple and humble track off the band's self-titled album – the promise and hopefulness of this track is enough to bring a tear to anyone's eye.
"Sunshine Coast, this one's for you," lead singer and guitarist Sam Cromack said, giving a cheeky grin as the band burst into 'Spark Up'.
Ball Park Music - image © Harrison Innes
Next up was a quick walk off stage by the band that left guitarist Dean Hanson standing alone on stage. "This is a song I wrote a while back." The venue fell silent as the chords to 'The Perfect Life Does Not Exist' rang out.
In place of the high energy 'TPLDNE' usually brings, it was beautiful to see a stripped-back, sing-along version of the iconic song.
An ecstatic crowd was treated to another spotlight moment, as halfway through 'Pariah' Dan Hanson ripped into a huge drum solo. It was a flurry of arms and drumsticks earning an incredible reaction from the awestruck crowd.
This was really a 'you had to be there' moment that I'm sure not many will forget quickly. In Cromack's own words: "Dan f...ng Hanson on the drums everyone!"
Ball Park Music - image © Harrison Innes
Ball Park Music is not the type of band to leave an audience feeling like the show could've had more. Packing in a total of 21 songs spanning the length of an hour and a half, punters always get a real, authentic performance at a Ball Park show.
As the "na na na na's" of 'Head Like A Sieve' died down, the crowd began the expected cheer for an encore – when I tell you I've never heard the shouts for an encore as loud as I did, I mean it.
Ball Park Music - image © Harrison Innes
And not being ones to disappoint, there were three more songs waiting for an adoring audience. "Sunshine Coast, we are Ball Park Music and all we want is you!" The harmonies of Sam Cromack and Jen Boyce are truly something from a dream.
"Everybody wake up, welcome to the future!" Blasting into the final song of the night an energetic Sam leaped onto the front speakers and reached out to the masses beyond, just as they reached back.
'Sad Rude Future Dude' was the perfect track to get anybody dancing, and it did just that. Smiles turned into thrilled screams as the band closed their spectacular show with a huge crescendo.
Ball Park Music - image © Harrison Innes
You can't get much better than a show like this; I'm even more excited to see what's next from Ball Park Music. Maybe a three-hour set covering every single Ball Park song, as previously teased on the band's Facebook page. I wouldn't be mad.
More photos from the show.
