Live Review: The Madden Brothers

There are so few people traipsing around the periphery of Hisense Arena that we wonder, ‘Are we too early or too late?’ Upon entering the stadium, which feels very much like a school gymnasium, most bums are already on seats.

It’s immediately obvious that their recent appearances as judges on The Voice have had a huge impact on The Madden Brothers’ fanbase: there are as many kids as adults in attendance and these ain’t your regular concert goers. At a guess, most have travelled into the big smoke from outside myki pass zones. A collection of American television commercials from the ‘70s play on the giant screens; these are undoubtedly meant to set the scene and eventually provide a clever segue into The Maddens Brothers’ debut album Greetings From California, but instead create a flat atmosphere. The cavernous venue is eerily silent.

But when the house lights dim and Joel and Benji Madden take the stage, fronting a five-piece band plus three male backing vocalists (“The Maddettes”) the audience wakes up and the floor section jumps to their feet. Half of the twins’ new album is done before 9pm. Joel announces that Good Charlotte material, as well as some songs that have influenced the brothers, will be included this evening. Danny Ross (who?) is welcomed to the stage. Turns out he was mentored by Joel on The Voice 2013 and came third runner-up. He takes on lead vocals for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Free Fallin’ and wears what resembles a peculiar, black leather puffer jacket. Bella from The Voice Kids is spotted in the crowd and pointed out, but not called to the stage. Then the Good Charlotte ‘greatest hits’ kick in: Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous, I Don’t Wanna Be In Love and an acoustic version of Last Night (which the twins tell us was written in Melbourne). Retro visuals don’t make sense with these songs! 

Random opportunistic kids file down the side aisles to the front stalls and are let in to fill up empty seats, but a pair of young siblings return to their parents with disappointed looks on their faces – access denied. Mum won’t have it, though, and heads over to security for a stern/persuasive word. Her little darlings are soon escorted down. We are then treated to 5 Seconds Of Summer’s Amnesia, which the Maddens co-wrote with the Aussie pop-punk boy band – yep, the angsty, heartbroken teen lyrics do come across as creepy when delivered through a 35-year-old mouthpiece. A couple of dancing fans down front hold up a banner that reads, “Can We Please Get A Selfie”. When this is clocked by the artists, they promise “after this song” and the girls totally lose their minds in anticipation.

Now back to The Madden Brothers material and their twin harmonies during Brother are excellent. As they introduce their backing players, a recognisable melody drifts in. Are they REALLY gonna play Eagles’ Hotel California? Surely that would be too obvious/cheesy. Nope, they go there! When Joel introduces We Are Done, extra battlers storm the aisles for some vigorous side stepping/stomping with added fist pumps and rooster-inspired head movements. They’re done, all right. The house lights snap back on, but an encore isn’t warranted. And those poor girls never get their selfie!