Live Review: The Avalanches

9 January 2017 | 4:47 pm | Darren M. Leach

"Everyone was a happy and sweaty mess by the last note of 'Since I Left For You'."

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The last time Adelaide witnessed The Avalanches as a live band was at the Big Day Out in 2001, which makes you wonder how many attendees at the band's glorious return to South Australia were even old enough to see them back then.

What a difference actual musicians make to a live show, rather than just DJ decks. Drummer Paris Jeffree too things to the next level, while the vocals of touring musicians Spank Rock and Eliza Wolfgramm worked perfectly together. Rock jumped around and incited the crowd to go crazy (remembered it was 40 degrees outsite), and Wolfgramm used the entire stage as her dance floor, whilst hitting all the top lines, rather than relying on vinyl samples to do the job. Jonti Danilewitz was filling in on guitar as Robbie Chater has been ill for some time. Which leaves Tony Di Blasi aka Tony Pepperoni as the only original member on stage. This could bother some avid fans but the music spoke for itself and everyone was soaking up the talent.

But it wasn’t just the music, the band used videos on a huge backdrop to get the message across for many of the tracks. Subways was a highlight, not only due to Wolfgramm sounding exactly like the original track, but due to the weird and wonderful visuals unfolding at the same time. And while the video for Frontier Psychiatrist has been engrained in to our subconscious for the last 16 odd years, it’s still a great and funny video to watch, and still brilliant to hear live again.

While the setlist was quite obviously hit-laden, it was the samples they threw in the mix that lit things up. The Animals' Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood played into to the nutty Frontier Psychiatrist, Frankie Sinatra sampled Favourite Things from The Sound of Music and Subway took influence from Bee Gees' Warm Ride.

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Everything about the 75-minute set was amazing, and everyone was a happy and sweaty mess by the last note of Since I Left For You.