REVIEW: You know when you have been waiting in eager anticipation for something for such a long time and that fear starts to creep in that it may not live up to your expectations?
That did not happen on Friday night.
In fact, my expectations were blown out of the water.
Way back in 2012, I went along to the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre to see Boy and Bear, possessing only a hazy knowledge of a few of their bigger hits.
This time around, I knew the boys back to front and was ready to take prime position in row four and absorb every bit of their indie rock-folk goodness.
The centre was packed to the rafters with a sell-out crowd – an interesting mix of fans both young and old, all ready to embrace the national Get Up and Dance tour.
As the fashionably late slowly filled the last seats, support act Holy Holy took the stage without much fanfare and launched into their set.
Dubbed “one of the country’s most promising bands” by people in the know, it wasn’t long before I was completely consumed by their story-telling songs set to soaring crescendos.
Lead singer Timothy Carroll amused us with the origins of the song If I Were You, inspired by a cryptic bartender in some far-flung overseas pub, who leant across and told him “If I were you, I would buy a horse and ride out of here.”
Holy Holy – a definite new favourite of mine – were the perfect warm-up for the main men Boy and Bear, who held the audience captive armed with their new album Harlequin Dream and plenty of favourites from their debut album, Moonfire.
Just as I remember from their last appearance, the theatre was the perfect setting to fully appreciate the hauntingly beautiful harmonies and the instrumental genius these guys deliver.
But as the show progressed, that familiar feeling crept in – the one that demands you Get Up and Dance.
The temptation must have hit quite a few fans at the same time, as I launched to my feet and looked around to see I was in good company.
But being in the fourth row, I couldn’t help but feel there may have been some disgruntled patrons behind me, so I squeezed out to the sidelines along with plenty of others.
A few excited fans couldn’t contain themselves and yelled out at the band during the song breaks, to which they responded “On this entire tour, we have never been heckled as much as we have in Bunbury.” Not that it seemed to bother them too much.
Hugely popular hits like Feeding Line and Lordy May had the crowd singing along with gusto, while new success story Southern Son received rapturous applause.
The boys once again proved they are the consummate professionals, switching between instruments with ease and, when the lights unexpectedly went out mid-song, not one note went astray.
As promised in my pre-show interview, the full line-up from both bands hit the town afterwards and I managed to chat to them over a beer without too much raving fan-girl creeping in – I think!
How lucky are we to have internationally successful bands land on our doorstep?
Good on you Bunbury for giving these guys the sell-out crowd they deserve – let’s hope the boys stop in again very soon.
- By Shanelle Miller.
