Live Review: The Delta Riggs, Violet Swells, Verticoli

When the first support act Verticoli started their set at about 10pm, the crowd was quite energetic and showed the local Hobart boys a lot of love. They played as a three-piece, following the departure of Will Scutt (who they have lost to the world of post-grad education). The punk rock style of their set got the crowd in the mood to party and by the last song a larger number had taken to the front of the stage for a dance. Violet Swells then changed the tune slightly with a unique mixture of electro pop punk that set the scene for a true Riggs party.

At around midnight The Delta Riggs took the stage with lead singer Elliott Hammond and guitarist Alex Markwell sporting their trademark hats. Although it had been a long night, the stage presence of the rock stars was more than enough to get the crowd up and about. Three songs in, the crowd favourite The Record's Flawed was played and that's when the beer really started flying. Not one person in the room was stationary; it was impossible not to dance.

With a couple more old faithfuls up their sleeves such as No Friends, Bobby's Flowers and Rah Rah Radio they got the full room of people all moving, grooving and singing along. Throw in a bit of quality Tasmanian banter and the night was going swimmingly. Hammond worked the stage like only he can, and no Delta Riggs show would be complete without Hammond climbing and jumping off something — he did not disappoint. Numerous jumps off the drum kit and scaling the wall were just a few of his shenanigans.

Finishing with Supersonic Casualties turning into a smooth cover of Glass Animals' Gooey was the cherry on top of an already brilliant night. They left the stage in true rock star fashion, throwing the microphone stand to the ground, and then the stage was empty and the night was over.