Live Review: The Vanns @ Rosemount Hotel, Perth

Known for their loud and soaring indie rock anthems, The Vanns took a different approach this month to deliver acoustic sessions to four major cities in Australia.  

Each venue provided a cozy space for these ‘stripped back’ shows. The Main Room at The Rosemount Hotel packed the crowd together, allowing everyone to get personal for the final leg of the tour.  

This gig supplied a night of escapism for those who attended. The stamp on each person’s wrist that read Main Room, Friday became a hypothetical ticket to leave behind the weight of the week and join some mates at a singalong night (campfire style).  

Each member of the band approached the stage relaxed, letting their long hair loose and getting comfortable with their instruments. “We’ve been making a lot of noise for a lot of years now, and we wanted to bring it back down,” frontman Jimmy Vann said candidly.  

Vann then captivates the tight-nit audience with Jules Said. Groups of friends embraced each other as they swayed to his soothing vocals and acoustic guitar.  

Lead guitarist and keyboardist Cameron Little set the tone of the evening, keeping a glass of red wine by his side. “Grab a beer, Grab a wine, let’s have some fun,” he says as the crowd lifts their drinks in agreement. 

The steady percussion of drummer Andrew Banovich gave a heartbeat to the stripped-back versions of Last Of Your Kind and Thinking Bout The Nights. Each of these melodies now had a pulse that was understood throughout the room.  

Bassist Tom Switlek joined the periodic conversations between the band and the crowd after each song. This venue, like every other that hosted The Vanns on this tour, allowed for personal exchanges between the band and concertgoers due to its snug size but inviting layout.  

“There’s this country singer called Zach Bryan. This is one of his songs,” Little says, sending excitement through the room as Bryan and The War And Treaty’s compelling hit Hey Driver is covered by the band.  

Fake Friends laid more raw emotions before the crowd. It was a bittersweet moment that had so many united by chanting a song of betrayal and disillusionment together.  

The band’s cover of Bon Iver’s Hey Ma, which was featured on triple j’s Like a Version in 2020, racked up over seven million streams on Spotify. This highly anticipated acoustic version of Bon Iver’s originally intricate and layered production did not disappoint.

The Vanns’ support act, Stevan, returned to the stage to deliver the song alongside Vann and Little. The audience took such an overwhelming charge of singing this song that Vann left it to them to finish the final verse. And behold, a few hundred people sounded like thousands.  

After this piece, the band breaks into another conversation with the Perth crowd. “Where should we go after this?” Little asks. You then hear an array of voices coming from the audience, each suggesting where the band should kick on. These were the sort of interactions that The Vanns craved on this tour.  

The audience also enjoyed beloved tunes such as Red Light, Chelsea, and Silhouette. You could see the excitement in each person’s face as they recognised their favourite songs through a mellow acoustic version.  

Many were surprised by Belmore St, which the band had not performed in over two years, yet another special element added to this event.  

Although this tour was organised quite late in the year, it came together nicely for The Vanns. These acoustic and intimate sessions were a seemingly unique experience for The Vanns, which has left a new and pivotal impression on them after a decade of music-making. “F*ck yeah, I don’t usually get to sit up here and talk and play acoustic guitar.”