Live Review: London Grammar, Wet

There are very few outdoor venues in Australia that can compete with the Brisbane Riverstage.

Its sprawling amphitheatre nestled against the city backdrop and darkening skies had no competition with Future Music Festival with a capacity 9,500 strong crowd ready and waiting. With buttered corn on the cob, picnic rugs on the grassy hill and toddlers to white-haired folk attending, Saturday night’s show (or mini festival?) provided all necessities for those left in Brisbane who didn’t own the any FMF15 florescent shorts or Drake obsessions.

Relishing their very first Aussie trip, UK trio, Until The Ribbon Breaks coincided with the setting sun. A quick 30-minute set showcased how Pete Lawrie-Winfield’s original solo project has taken off since 2012. Including drums, keys, synth and brass, the band had something for everyone and enticed eager punters off blankets and down to the barrier early on.

Following suit were American three-piece Wet, with their stunning mix of electronic, groove, pop and R&B to boot. Dreams was spun early on and perked sets of ears all round. The too short set consisting of just five songs, merely whetting the audience’s appetite. Thirty to 40-minute breaks felt a little stretched but each time the lights dimmed for the next act to start, it felt worth the wait.

It’s ridiculous to think London Grammar are only one album deep. Fast forward one year and show sizes will double and sell out even quicker. Obliged to cancel their 2014 Splendour side shows, thousands of fans missed seeing London Grammar when they were really making it big, but nine months later, they’re better than ever and have the stage dominance and pure enchantment from that extra practice.

A five-minute build of layered textures, lights and smoke had fans bursting at the seams before opening track, Hey Now had even begun. Melting a ten-track setlist together, their flawless record now fades in comparison to the live rendition. Flickers introduced slow bongo percussion that ended in booming drum machine heights before diving straight into Disclosure’s Help Me Lose My Mind featuring the stars of the night.

The standout quote, “you know it’s a big show when there’s a nacho van at the back of the crowd” summed up the night. There was an air of importance to the show after such a long time between visits that lead vocalist (aka goddess) Hannah Reid had to say that even though Australia is so far away, it still feels so much like home.

A deafeningly epic singalong to Strong supposedly ended the night before a genuine encore chant resulted in two last tunes, If You Wait and Metal & Dust, with a blinding light show teaming with Reid’s vocals pushing the performance to new heights, elating every soul and leaving everyone hoping that it’s not as long between visits for London Grammar.