Melbourne's weather served up a couple of wild nights for punters heading to the Northcote Social Club at the weekend to see local indie icons Underground Lovers celebrate their 1992 classic, 'Leaves Me Blind'.
So wild, in fact, it kept this reviewer from the Saturday night show – however, the universe and the band's popularity allowed a do-over the following evening (20 November), which was again staged amid howling wind and horizontal rain. It's no wonder this city is better known for its music than its good weather.While the band, centred around songwriters Vince Giarrusso and Glenn Bennie, might be this reviewer's favourite Aussie act of all time, they're also a mighty live band, so there was little chance of disappointment.
Tweaking the traditional nostalgia album tour, the band didn't play the songs in order from the record or even the whole set, which lent a freshness to the Undies' much-loved second release.
Opener 'Eastside Stories' remained the opener here too, however, and fittingly so. Its sprawling, building wall-of-sound guitar, bass, drums and Moog, and Giarrusso's shoegaze vocals was the seven-minute launchpad for the set.
As much as the band has been shaped around the two songwriters, it would not be Underground Lovers without Philippa Nihill, and her lead vocal turns on set standout 'Holiday' and 'I Was Right' were highlights.
The band shifted the singles towards the end of the proceedings, with 'Ladies Choice', their poppiest song from the album 'Promenade', and 'Your Eyes' rounding out the main part of the set.
The audience, another sold-out affair for the band, danced, sang and cheered along, and it was a considerably rowdier crowd than expected for a rainy Sunday night with an average demographic of the room most likely over 40.
Thankfully, there was little waiting between the end of the set and the encore, with the band returning for fan fave 'Corn', 'Every Sign' and, with Giarrusso wishing us all sweet dreams, closing on 'Dream It Down', from their 1994 album of the same name.
Incidentally, 'Dream It Down' was named triple j's Aussie album of the year, and it was certainly responsible for this reviewer's lifelong love of Underground Lovers. (It also seems so strange now that the psychedelic, shoegaze indie-rock of songs like 'Your Eyes' could have been on rotation at the youth network.)
Let's hope the band have set a precedent and will deliver fans a 2024 30th anniversary tour of 'Dream It Down', because that title track teaser at the end of the set left all of us wanting more.
