Live Review: The Delta Riggs, Lime Cordiale, The Upskirts

Never one to miss a party, Sydney’s The Upskirts opened the night with their rollicking brand of hazy, indie, rock goodness. This four-piece has been building a solid following over the last few years with their infectious and cruisey brand of guitar rock and were a solid opening act for the evening.  

Lime Cordiale brought along some horns for their opening show of this tour and burst on stage with some catchy, poppy songs from their two EPs. The Leimbach brothers from Sydney’s North Shore have been working hard over the last two years and have really tightened up to become a solid live unit. Perhaps a little more energy on stage may have suited the night better, but there’s no doubting the talent on stage.

It can’t be easy, sometimes, being a rock band in Australia, a genre that’s reported as ‘dead’ every other week, so one might be excused for dismissing new rock bands as irrelevant. The Delta Riggs don’t care for such reports. They simply come out to the stage and give it everything they have.

Their show is a blitzkrieg of power, passion and punk with more than a few clichéd rock moves. It’s exciting to watch a band that has confidence on stage and the chops to back it up. Lead singer, Elliot Hammond, has the persona of an aging British rock star (think Pete Shelley) and the moves of a young Jagger.

It’s Over, the ironically-named opening track from new album, Dipz Zebazios, kicked off the night and it was non-stop from there. From the tongue-in-cheek fun of No Friends to the psych-rock of The Record’s Flawed, the tracks from the new album showed a diversity of style that will deservedly push ‘Les Riggs’ further into the limelight. Their Like a Version take on Glass Animals’ Gooey finished off the tight 60-minute set and left the sold-out Newtown Social Club wanting more. Don’t miss this tour.