Fifteen years since The Streets were last in Adelaide as part of the Parklife festival tour in 2011, it was no surprise Hindley Street Music Hall was packed to the rafters.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with a mostly Gen X and Gen Z audience and a grinning teen who belongs to me (1 March), there was a palpable energy as the stage lit up with a sun-drenched image of the bus shelter from the cover of 'A Grand Don't Come For Free'.
A gentle piano riff lured us into the opening overture of 'It Was Supposed To Be So Easy', as black-clothes-clad Mike Skinner invited us into a story of joy and pain, confusion and chaos, told through an album of distinct chapters.
It was a heady gamble in 2004 to pen an album that followed the trials and tribulations of a man who lost a 'grand' down the back of the TV, but thanks to Skinner's literary punch, humour, and spectacular compositions, it paid off with interest, garnering critical acclaim and a legion of dedicated fans.
Image © Thomas Jackson
Skinner steps up to deliver each scene with deadpan delivery, staying in character as the album's protagonist, sauntering, floundering, fighting and crying as the narrative unfolds, stepping back between verses for his backup singers, Roo Savill and Kevin Mark Trail, to belt out big choruses with the audience joining in.
Savill and Trail play their parts in the narrative too. Savill steps into the role of girlfriend Simone, playing flirty for 'Could Well Be In' and unbottling anger for 'Get Out Of My House'. Trail's gospel-infused soul voice rises through various songs, and he moves forward to channel mates, Scott and Dan, in the suspicious track 'What Is He Thinking?'.
Unsurprisingly, the hazy cadence of 'Blinded By The Lights', cheeky bounce of 'Fit But You Know It', and soulful sadness of 'Dry Your Eyes' receive the biggest responses, as the singles that broke through from the album.
Image © Thomas Jackson
Closing the album with 'Empty Cans' and offering a choose your own adventure style of ending to the story, The Streets stepped off stage for a couple of minutes while the crowd roared in appreciation.
Back for a second set of classics, Skinner snapped out of his album persona and addressed the crowd, acknowledging the years he's been away from Adelaide, as he cheerfully bounced through 'Turn The Page', 'Who's Got The Bag' and 'Don't Mug Yourself' with the crowd chanting along.
Slowing the pace but never losing intensity for 'Never Went To Church' and 'Utopia', complete with goosebump-inducing vocals from Savill and Roo. Skinner was distracted by someone in a Birmingham City jersey, Skinner commented he didn't expect to be thinking about hometown football rivalries in Adelaide, and then started searching for someone repping Aston Villa, to create a "moment of unity".
Image © Thomas Jackson
While blending together 'Weak Become Heroes', 'Too Much Brandy', and 'Wrong Answers', he stepped up on a riser to direct each supporter to opposite sides of the venue, culminating in them crowd surfing to the centre and meeting Skinner (also riding high on shoulders) to hold hands and smile as the crowd erupted during show closer 'Take Me As I Am'.
The last sing-song word from stage "it was s'posed to be soooo easy" closed the loop, taking us back to the beginning, perfectly satisfied.
