On a dreary Sunday night, approximately 1,000 rain-covered people piled in to the retro doors of the Metro Theatre. Known for being “a pivotal breakthrough venue for bands”, it has hosted the likes of John Mayer, the Foo Fighters and Coldplay, and quickly became an iconic performance location during the late ‘90s and early 2000s. With a history like that, it’s not surprising that one of the newest, hottest acts to leave Canada decided to upgrade their show to this old-school venue.
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The crowd was welcomed by 2023 triple j Unearthed High finalist Lotte Gallagher. It’s rare to see an opening act that compliments the main show as well as Gallagher did tonight. Though her capo was made out of a sharpie and some hair ties, each strum harmonised perfectly with her smooth voice as she performed her songs. Her writing may have begun with telling stories about her mum loving her cat more than her (relatable), Gallagher’s musical abilities have grown to a new level since she released her first track last year. Gallagher is an upcoming artist you need to be keeping an eye on as she evolves.
As The Beaches glided onto the stage, picking up their freshly tuned instruments, the crowd erupted. The Toronto-made rock band were about to perform their final show in the Aus tour, and boy were they ready to put on a performance. Warming us up with hits from as far back as 2018, they took their time working through some classics before hitting the crowd with tunes from their most recent album, Blame My Ex.
Each song they performed had its own deeper meaning, which lead singer and bass player Jordan Miller made sure to let the crowd know about in-between performances (and whoever Brett is, thank you for being the reason so many incredible songs were written). It’s unsurprising, with such an Aussie crowd, that their song Shower Beer was an absolute hit. It’s always good when an audience can relate to a song, though perhaps this time in a non-heartbroken way.
Their performance of Edge Of The Earth was a hit with every fire sign in the crowd, being a song just for them. With each song the band members moved about the stage in an almost perfectly choreographed routine. Interacting with the crowd at different points, the band really hit it off when they broke out into simultaneous moves or paused for a classic guitar riff. The band stopped all music-related content to do a quick shoutout to Michael, who they met at the Oxford – though you had to skip a free concert to watch a boxing match at home, they made sure everyone knew the next song was dedicated to you.
Before the band began their performance of Kinkade, guitarist and backing vocalist Leandra Earl announced she was going to do something she’d never done before: crowd-surf. As she stepped up onto the barrier, the crowd began to reach out their hands and she was lifted up towards the ceiling. Mic in hand, Earl sang each lyric with only the slightest hint of panic, as she was passed along each side of the crowd before returning to the stage.
As the show came to a close, they performed the song that brought them so much success in 2023. After performing What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid and Everything Is Boring, The Beaches ended the main part of the show with Blame Brett. The crowd came together and sang every single word of that song loud enough that the band stopped and listened, in awe and appreciation of what was in front of them.
The encore brought more than anyone bargained for. Though Melbourne were privy to Earl taking a sweet, sweet sip from her shoe, being the last show of the tour, they needed to take it up a level. As the guitarist took her “stinky and sweaty” Converse off once again, all four band members prepared for their Aussie initiation. One by one, they drank from the black and white Chuck Taylors before ending the show with a final performance of their song Money.
The Beaches were originally expected to play at The Lansdowne in Sydney, but the quick sell-out of all 480 tickets meant they had to come up with a bigger and better plan. Swapping out the venue for the Metro Theatre still left the concert with an intimate feel, whilst being able to hold more than double the original capacity. With around 1,000 people selling out their final show, it’s fair to say every member of that audience had a good night. For their first time on the other side of the world, the band certainly know how to perform to a sell-out crowd. If this tour is any indication of what the future may hold for these Canadian-born band members, then it can only be up from here.
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