Five figures walk through the darkness and onto the stage at the industrial style stage at the Triffid. The bass of “Welcome to Your Life” fills the room as the crowd cheers for Grouplove. Lead singers and resident husband and wife, Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi, begin to sing while sharing loving looks and infectious smiles spread from the black stars on each cheek. The five don matching olive drab trench coats and black lace sleeves under each outfit whether it be the boys’ baggy t-shirt or Hooper’s more feminine look. Her sheer lace catsuit covered her black leotard paired with her silver holographic Doc Martens, also matching the boys.
Hooper and Zucconi often pausing between songs to talk about their tour or songs, sharing stories about the crazy day to day life on the road from back in the days, in contrast to looking after their little toddler back home and on tour. Speaking of their song “Raspberry” as, “a song we wrote in Australia, really drunk and smoking a joint,” laughs Hooper. The couple also introduced a brand new song that has not even been recorded or officially titled yet. The expectedly named “This is the End” felt even more grunge-y than the rest of their set and is anticipated to be released sometime in 2019.
Zucconi may have stage dived, but what really brought the crowd together was when everyone teamed up to demand a “shoey”. Bassist Daniel Gleason took one for the team and poured a beer into his brand new shiny, and now sweaty, Doc Martens. The crowd reignited the “shoey” chant as Gleason sculled the grimy beer from his shoe, which would later be repeated a second time after another chant erupted.
My regular review of live gigs always repeating the same opinion that artists (especially those that aren’t on the radio 24/7) should play some covers, and boy, was I not disappointed?! Their set included their song “Tongue Tied” which tied off in a mesmerising twist of “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. This was followed by a Beastie Boy’s cover of Sabotage and then, later on, “Spiderhead” by Cage the Elephant. Their vocals were a little shaky, particularly towards the end, but that’s to be expected for such a lively and impassioned performance with Hooper, in particular, throwing everything she had into her go-go dance moves and Tamborine work.
Although Grouplove is often praised as a sunny indie pop band, this concert truly felt like a passionate rock gig, and their energy was contagious. The set finished off with one last unique cover of “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles. With a bow and holding up their hands in the shape of a heart, the group left a shaken audience gushing.
Comments