Vibes were high at the Forum in Melbourne last night as Ball Park Music took the stage for their Like Love tour.

Call it a bias or call it projecting, but Ball Park Music has always held a soft place in their hearts for Melbourne if their tracks, lyrics and sell-out shows are anything to go by. Perhaps it’s their stage presence and breadth of work that made the atmosphere last night so magnetic, but there was a line snaking down Flinders Street at 6 pm to get into the Forum by 7 pm, with Ball Park Music starting their set at 9:30 pm, which suggested that the feeling was mutual.

Like Love was the first song played out of the gate, with lead vocalist Sam Cromack cutting a powerful silhouette as he performed the song solo before inviting bandmates on stage for Coast Is Clear. The crowd went wild to see Cromack emerge onstage, and relished another applause as the rest of the group made their way into position. The Like Love tour is the group's 15th headline tour (18th if you include joint tours), and it’s impressive to see that the group can still play with new stylistic choices like this to give the audience something different. 

The group played in front of a sheet with a picture of a rock cliff face and water - a simple backdrop in a time when there is an increasing trend to use complex AV. This may be due to their intention to perform a more deep, pared-back show with Ball Park Music saying when they first announced the tour: “The new record has seen us explore a more tender, introspective side of our band, and we're excited to redesign our show to accommodate this.”

This was definitely evident and a far cry from the group's loud, bouncy It’s Nice To Be Alive era of 2011, though last night's show still packed a heavy dose of energy and passion.

Last night was the first of the two Melbourne shows, with tonight’s show sold out since early March. Cromack was feeling the love from the Melbourne audience, sharing that this show was the 50th time the group has played in Melbourne. They went on to say that each show was spectacular and that playing at the Forum was always a highlight. He further joked that a hell of a lot of work goes into being able to tour in cities around 50 times, with their set list also reflecting their work and 15 years of music.

Melbourne is one of the early stops of the tour, with the group having already visited Tasmania and Western Australia. Wrapping up at the end of July, the Like Love tour will also head to regional venues and New Zealand in between their Australian shows.

All I Want Is You was the fifth song to be played and was met with huge excitement by the crowd as the familiar snare drum started. Cromack introduced the song by telling the crowd that All I Want Is You was the first song that Ball Park Music played as a band, and then dedicated the song to his cousin Bec, who was in attendance at the Forum. 

The mood shift when Ball Park Music played Stars In My Eyes was palpable, with the audience turned blue with light and smaller white lights twinkling downwards to create a starry effect. This 2023 release scored them a top 10 spot in triple j’s Hottest 100, and watching the crowd sway to this sweet, emotional track, it was clear to see why. The keyboard work and the electric guitar really stole the show here.

Please Don’t Move To Melbourne was, of course, met with an even bigger reception, and the uplifting intro to the song was one of those had-to-be-there live music moments where Ball Park Music felt so connected to the jovial crowd. As expected, ‘Please don’t move to Melbourne/Please don’t leave me standing here’ was bellowed through the Forum.

With eight albums and their most recent, Like Love, already a hit, each track from their curated set list was met with surges from the audience as the group took us through music made over the last 14 years. The group seamlessly dipped into some of their earliest work and then back into their current sound with the expertise of a group dedicated to perfecting their art individually and as a group.

Ball Park Music are famously proud of their Brisbane roots, and so it was unsurprising to see fellow Brisbanites, Bean Magazine, share the ticket as support for the tour.

The trio seemed to have a bit more rock bite than the headliners, but certainly belonged to the same tapestry of music. Bean Magazine’s substantial set was devoured by an energetic audience, and they even played some music that has not been released yet or even heard live. Bean Magazine recently released a single, Ashamed That You Hate It from their upcoming seven-track EP, Folly, which is set to be released on June 6. 

Ball Park Music continue their tour in Melbourne tonight before hitting South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and beyond. You can find tickets here.