Live Review: The Smith Street Band

For anyone who has seen The Smith Street Band in Hobart, it's pretty much a given that it's at the Brisbane Hotel and it will be hot and packed full of people screaming the lyrics. This time was no different — except for that it wasn't at the Brisbane, it was at the Odeon, a much bigger venue with room for a lot more people. To go from selling out the Brisbane, to close to filling up the Odeon is huge and frontman Wil Wagner showed his appreciation to Hobart and the band's island fans multiple times throughout the night.

Hobart was the first stop on the tour for their brand new album More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me, and with support from Allison Weiss, Ceres and Joyce Manor there was no shortage of beautiful songs with heartfelt lyrics. Wagner, the gentle giant spoke about his lyrics and the making of the album, and certainly played all the right songs — Passiona, Birthdays, Shine, and of course, Death To The Lads. Old favourites like Young Drunk made it onto the setlist as well, providing the ultimate singalong.

The larger venue meant there was substantially more room than there had been at previous The Smith Street Band Hobart shows, which resulted in a lot of circle pits and the odd 'girl on shoulders' featured here and there. It was a night full of love and everyone was just happy to be there. Being an all ages gig, it meant that the fan base was bigger and people who may not have been able to attend in the past, were able to go. As always, it was a pleasure to be in the presence of The Smith Street Band and to leave remembering why you love them so much. Get along to one of their gigs over the coming months as they make their way through the rest of the tour.