Only returning to Australia two years since they last graced us with their presence, the quality of Morcheeba's performances is understandably why some shows including Adelaide have sold out already, with others coming close.
Unkle Sounds (as DJ James Lavelle is currently billed) sets the tone for the evening (16 February) by performing a complementing 'mix' that takes the audience back to the mid to late '90s (and early 2000s), cherry picking from his own back catalogue collaborations as UNKLE and material by other contemporaneous artists.
A sequence including Sneaker Pimps '6 Underground', Portishead's 'Strangers' and Lamb's 'Gorecki' goes down particular well with the sold-out audience, many perhaps who may have been unfamiliar with his history.
Morcheeba's instrumentalists briefly precede singer Skye Edwards arrival onstage and when she does, grinning from cheek to cheek, she does not appear to have aged although she will tell us later exactly how old she is.
'Trigger Hippie' is where it all began, so it is somewhat appropriate this is what the band leads with, a mash up of dubby, trippy, space country that if you had to pick a song representative of their oeuvre this would be it.
Before the song comes to an end, Skye throws in some lyrics from Donna Sumner's 'Love To Love You Baby'. This is just the beginning of a career-spanning set ("we've been doing this for 30 years. I don't remember anything," guitarist and mainstay Ross Godfrey tell us later) that holds our collective attention for just under two hours.
There's audience participation encouraged early on as Skye practises a call-and-response a cappella warm-up with the audience before the more funky 'Friction'. As she effortlessly sings "friction is turning to fire," it comes to mind that the dancing audience is like a tinderbox.
The preceding vocal practise comes to fruition at the end of the song when the audience joins in, the first of many shared moments throughout the evening.
The sweet soulful groove of 'Call For Love' brings the set more up-to-date, being taken from 2025's 'Escape The Chaos' released after their last appearance in Adelaide at WOMADelaide in 2024.
There are cheers of recognition in the opening moments of 'The Sea' and Skye motions with her hands like she is conducting a choir; the audience comply by singing along, "down by the sea".
Not only the title but the song itself, 'We Live And Die' could easily be a James Bond theme song, bassist Steve Gordon and Ross joining in on vocals. Skye announces: "We're going to go back to 1996," as the band perform 'Never An Easy Way'.
The bluesy slide guitar and feel good groove of 'Part Of The Process' belies its somewhat autobiographical sentiment. As she has done at other shows, Skye jokes that she has made her own dress worn tonight then points out her shoes, which she tells us could open bottles.
After 'Blood Like Lemonade', at the midpoint in the set, it's announced the band are going to have a jam and they perform a cover of Dawn Penn's 'You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)' during which Skye sits down and sings: "I'm taking my shoes off now," and she does just that before the song culminates in her gradually doing the splits and then announcing: "I've got my ballet shoes on now."
After this mid-set diversion, it's back to regular programming with 'Rome Wasn't Built In A Day', the audience swept up in the positive vibe such they begin pogoing along with Skye and leading on the vocals at times. She shares with us: "I'll be 54 in May. . . and I can do the splits!"
The contrasting slow groove of 'Never Undo' gives the audience and Skye a moment of repose which continues on into the laidback 'Blindfold' before the set closes with 'Blaze Away'.
Skye collects her belongings and leaves the stage while the rest of the band play on before departing themselves. Initially only the keyboard player Greg Coulson returns to perform a short instrumental before being joined by the rest of the band with Skye having exchanged the oversized bowler hat she had been wearing up to now for a feathered head dress.
Ross is sincere when he tells us: "We're grateful for everything you've done tonight," then the stage lights go down and the audience phone lights go up for the dark narrative of 'Col'. Afterwards, in the moment, Skye, on a high, comments: "I feel a little bit nuts. . . I'm crazy."
We are in for treat when Skye asks for help in the next song and informs us "we didn't do this the other night. Perth didn't get this." She instructs us in some vocal exercises, but it isn't until the song actually begins that everyone gets it, drummer Samson initially behind the eight-ball, this being only his second show with the band.
It's not actually on the set list, so it is a genuine and welcome surprise when the band perform a loose version of David Bowie's 'Let's Dance', Skye calling out mid-song "are you gonna dance with me," prompting a burst of physical energy among the crowd.
We are brought back to the present with the final song performed this evening, 'Bleeding Out' another from their last album 'Escape The Chaos'. The latter-day songs don't seem out of place among those from the band's commercial heyday.
For those who have not followed the band since those early peaks, it would be fair to say Morcheeba is more than just 'Rome Wasn't Built In A Day', as has been ably demonstrated this evening.
