Irish rock band The Coronas thrilled their fans with an electric show in Fortitude Valley on Saturday night (28 Nov).
A well known band at home, the mission of The Coronas now is to replicate that success all over the world. Returning to Australia for the second time in two years, the four-piece launched into their set with 'How This Goes', an uptempo and catchy track from their latest album.
The crowd had hung back from the stage throughout the support but the floor came to life for the main act's first chords. Danny and his unit change gears effortlessly, shifting from high tempo to introspective numbers like 'At The Same', taking the crowd with them as they speed up and slow down, with a hectic light show adding to the experience.
Danny revealed something of life on the road when he told the crowd: "Every once in a while, you get enough of each other and after soundcheck, I just wanted to go off by myself, have a wander around the Valley. I found this little Thai restaurant and I was sitting there having dinner by myself and this group of people saw me sitting by myself and sent me over a beer.
"It was just a lovely gesture, they had no idea who I was, they just thought I was lonely: 'Who's that hairy bloke in the corner there with no mates?' And they came to the show tonight and I'm going to dedicate this next song to them. I'm not sure why I dedicate the most depressing song in the whole set to them," he said introducing 'My Fault'.
A beautiful harmony on 'Tell Me Again' was followed by the lights kicking in for the huge chorus of 'Get Loose'. "This next song was the last song that we wrote on our last album," the singer reflected, introducing 'What A Love'. Powerfully infectious, it was a track that certainly lifted with the whole room singing the chorus.
'All the Others', lead single on their most recent collection, would be followed by a couple of songs that saw Danny move onto the keys. "We're going to do that thing where we walk offstage and hopefully you applaud and we come back," the singer told the crowd as the regular set came to a close with a triumphant 'Make it Happen' and then the haunting 'Closer to You'.
Of course, the lads answered the chants of 'one more tune' and 'ole, ole, ole' to come back with 'The Long Way', the title track of the tour, 2014 album and new single. This was followed by 'Addicted to Progress', one of the band's best known hits.
The crowd were only to happy to oblige when Danny asked for some help with the chorus of 'Heroes or Ghosts'. 'San Diego Song', another from the band's early days, was another definite highlight.
Danny's interaction with the crowd is easy and genuine. This approachability extends to the whole group and both before and after the gig, they could be seen meeting with fans, totally devoid of any egos. 'Mark My Words', the last song of the night, saw Danny move into the crowd, high fiving each and every one of them before being held aloft, as he had been in Sydney the night before.
The band left the stage after their 90-minute set with the words: "Thank you, Brisbane for the welcome you have given us".
The show was started by local performer, Emma Bell. A singer/songwriter with a certain presence, Emma's clearly a performer to watch out for.
Mick McHugh took to the stage just ahead of the headline act with songs that dealt with themes like war, depression and, quite aptly given the audience of the night, the experiences of the Irish abroad.
