The Princess Theatre is filling quickly on this Friday night (1 March) with a mixed crowd mostly under 40s.
Support act Kian Brownfield aka KIAN from Victoria joins with his two band members, who are already onstage. In front of the assembled throng of punters, KIAN shows us 'The Way' with a boppy vibe to kick things off.KIAN's gorgeous, smooth, soulful pipes come to the fore on recent track 'Try Hard' that bends our ears with the jangly rhythms of this introspective summertime banger. KIAN gives a sincere performance that has claimed a few hundred fans from this show alone with a short, but killer set list that has given up vibes of R&B, pop-rock and indie music behind emotive lyrics such as those in 'Somebody Else'.
KIAN closes the set with crushing debut single 'Waiting' that has fans singing outloudly and cheering like mad. Winning even more hearts, KIAN returns to the stage to throw (as far out into the crowd as he can) white band t-shirts in appreciation of our response.
KIAN - image © Clea-marie Thorne
After the intermission, darkness envelopes the stage and hush falls over most mouths in the room. The Band CAMINO – Jeffrey Jordan (vocals, guitar, keys), Spencer Stewart (vocals, guitar, keys), Garrison Burgess (drums) and an unknown body on bass are silhouettes moving to their places.
Ear-splitting screams and roars erupt from the fans lucky to be holding tickets to this sold-out show. Their opening banger may be 'Afraid Of The Dark' but the band isn't, as the stage remains dark, only pierced with beams of backlight – the spectacle casts a moody vibe.
Rock-pop crowd pleaser '1 Last Cigarette' is next, with fans well and truly losing their minds; by the end of the song, they've gleefully descended into a musical madness. Another song then 'Less Than I Do', which I have to say is a karaoke thriller for these fans who are relentless in their singing.
With just as much enthusiasm, the band keep the churn coming including with 'Never A Good Time' (their collab with NOTD). Afterwards, Jordan has a guitar change and cracks a joke as he gets his roadie to shorten the length of his guitar strap telling us, the better you play the lower you can hang your guitar players and that he needs his up under his arm pit. We all laugh as they commence 'Three Month Hangover'.
The Band CAMINO - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Stewart and Jordan really are the triple threat; they change lead vocals, both play keys and guitar (even a glow-in-the-dark guitar!). I think this adds to the diversity of the music and the live experience.
Burgess is skilled and fantastic with the tempo changes, but he is no sit-back kind of drummer. No siree! I've seen him rising up from his stool to raise a stick to fans; at one point during a slower number, he put his leg up on his snare and casually struck a beat. He is one badass tub beater that one!
Working through their set list and some moody tunes we get to experience their very first song '2/14' live. It's a cracker that is followed by another mover and shaker 'Roses', which has the place jumping some more.
'I Think I Like You' is dedicated to a little baby Spencer, followed by 'Song About You' which is infectious and I can't help but sway and join in. The pearler 'Novocaine' follows and is to blame for more than a few romantic moves happening between couples around me. More hits keep coming including 'Haunted' and 'Told You So' that has fans bouncing and fists pumping high in the air.
The Band CAMINO - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Their set list is like crashing waves from a monsoonal trough. You know? Crushing fans with upbeat, electric jams wave after wave, then suddenly switching to rolling ebbs and flows with slower, stripped-down tunes mid-set that serves up all the feels. We must be at about 18 songs already and they are not done!
Their music is relatable and powerful – you can't do anything but ride these tides of emotion and energy coming from the band or their fans. From the roars and the cheers, you can tell the OG fans were also digging their more recent tracks, especially the ones that hit all the right nostalgia notes for them.
The dark anthemic 'What Am I Missing?' leads into a number with giant hooks that are stitching smiles on many faces – it is 'California'. Another much cherished song 'See Through' features Jordan on the mic, the crowd chiming in loudly from the first lines and reaching a fever pitch and another 10db louder.
I think the crowd has pleased and energised the band just as much as they have done for fans because the band were not leaving the stage for the obligatory encore call, instead we are told one more song for the night.
The Band CAMINO - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Copious squeals and happy sighs of relief are in the air when 'Daphne Blue' is recognised as the closing song. Fans are still raising the roof with their singing: "You've got me off track. Got me thinkin' abstract. . . I love it, but I hate that. Black jeans and Daphne blue. Still make me think of you!"
I truly believe Jordan when he told us earlier how stoked they are to see so many fans before them tonight as they throwing tokens to fans, taking a bow centre stage.
I went with open eyes and receptive ears, not pre-empting anything about the show as this was a first for me. I can confirm not only do I live an El Camino ute, but I am also in love with The Band CAMINO's show – it is an insanely excellent experience for fans and virgin punters alike!
More photos from the show.
