No expense was spared as Basement Jaxx returned to Brisbane on Sunday night.
Some fifteen years in the waiting paid off for a full-feature band experience at The Riverstage (1 March).
A lot of attention (and presumably money) to detail was given to make the 90-minute experience as high energy and impactful as possible.
Stage design was unique. It was a steep design that sloped towards the crowd, with a large circle cutout for Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe to sit centre. Joining Felix and Simon was a backing band, who worked their magic on either side of the stage.
With full choreography, multiple dancers and guest singers climbed and danced over every surface of the stage. I'm talking grand jetés and backwards walkovers! Yes, I did have to Google it to find the proper names of ballet moves. That's how impressed I was!
Image © Kalem Horn
Aside from the dedicated dancers, the singers did their fair share of dancing alongside them, often on the slope. As they flipped, flew, glided on and off stage they would reappear in brand new costumes.
For 'Raindrops', a dancer transformed into a gigantic flower (probably the size of a car). Dressed in shiny, see-through, ocean coloured, pretty fabric. Her petals swayed centre stage. Very beautiful and awe-inspiring.
A/V was not left out. Lighting was superb, colourful, responsive and striking. Visuals were superb too. They were designed centre-focussed, key imagery remained visible behind the slope but still contained visual splendour that poured out the sides.
Spliced into the visuals was live video. A dedicated centre camera was placed on the floor. It would aim up towards the screen for a deliberately infinite mirror effect with the performers, who were aware of these elements and danced or placed themselves in position to utilise those moments.
Image © Kalem Horn
Last, but not least, was of course the music. Varied in flavour as Basement Jaxx always has been, and reimagined for a live band, with a full drum kit, percussion kit and trumpet, certain songs like 'Bingo Bango' gave a samba or congo flare.
It was very fitting with the rest of the show. Classic hits like 'Where's Your Head At' of course went off. Dancers emerged in gorillas suits with strobing lights and jumping singers; the whole crowd was pumping all the way to the back of The Riverstage.
To break pace, the stage would go black and minimal – a stark contrast from earlier. Felix and Simon would then play some absolute head-throbbing, high-tempo hardstyle and house bangers. White light strobed around the rim of cutout circle.
You think you've been teleported to the headliner of an electronic festival! Then of course. . . Back to classical music. Nothing out of ordinary for Basement Jaxx. A truly, fully-fledged show.
Image © Kalem Horn
You just don't see this much care or money put into most live experiences. A whole team is required to pull this off: costume designers, stage designers, lighting technicians, choreographers, producers etc etc.
It did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. It felt like the best and nicest club set you've ever been to, and the best, surprising show you accidentally stumbled into at a festival at 11pm. This will be one of my highlights of the year for sure.
