Live Review: The Cat Empire, Sahara Beck

Melbourne-based band The Cat Empire have been sweeping across the nation this month in support of their latest release: Rising With The Sun. The uplifting 11-track album almost feels like an invitation to celebrate, and Thursday night finally marked Adelaide's turn to do just that at a jam-packed Thebarton Theatre show.

Young singer-songwriter Sahara Beck and her three-piece band took to the stage first. Beck immediately cited her first song as being inspired by an ex-boyfriend's wicked ways, which gave the listener an inkling toward the emotionally charged set to come. She swayed effortlessly between husky blues and an uptempo rockabilly swing, managing to quickly reel in the audience with her colourful vocal tone and well-written melodies. It would seem that her voice could easily stand alone; in fact the twangy lead guitar clashed with Beck's smoother vibes and it would've been a real treat to see this pared back slightly. A few covers then rounded out the set (Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name and The Jungle Book's I Wanna Be Like You were particular highlights) and left the energy in the room poised for The Cat Empire's entrance.

Making their way onto the stage to deafening roars, The Cat Empire launched straight into party-starters Wolves and Bulls from the top of their new album and mimicked the creative chaos of the kaleidoscope backdrop behind them from the get-go. They managed to intertwine their signature blend of catchy ska and jazz hooks with a more fresh-feeling electronic sound — a perfect example being Daggers Drawn, during which pianist Ollie McGill whipped the crowd into a frenzy of gyration with his free-flowing key work. Pausing briefly for a poignant moment of tribute to Paris attack survivors in Bataclan, the band pressed on enthusiastically and provided DJ Jamshid 'Jumps' Khadiwala, drummer Will Hull-Brown, and The Empire Horns with a chance to individually showcase their instruments. A tasty side-dish of old favourites popped up too; classics Fishies, Two Shoes, In My Pocket, How To Explain, and The Chariot were thrown into the mix and relished by punters.

People have always hit up The Cat Empire's live shows to experience a distinctive atmosphere, which frontman Felix Riebl summed up perfectly last night. Their music creates a space in which to "celebrate living with people that are very much alive", and it's clear that The Cat Empire approach music and live shows with as much vigour now as when they burst onto the scene with their first album back in 2003.