Live Review: Ocean Alley, Paradise Club

The psychedelic rock, reggae-infused band Ocean Alley closed their Australian tour in Adelaide supported by up-and-coming local act Paradise Club. Ocean Alley’s six members are so fantastically cohesive at every moment in their music that it was an exceptional pleasure to hear them tear down the place as one. 

Paradise Club took to the stage with a short set filled with remarkably catchy songs. The members’ gaze seemed to often fall to the ground, which dampened their stage presence somewhat but coming off a bit rough around the edges is to be expected by a relatively new band.

There was a decidedly long interlude between acts until the background music dropped off and the lights began to flicker. Interestingly as Ocean Alley made their way on stage, drinks in hand, the drawn-out introduction was actually a recording which stopped abruptly once all members had found their place on stage. With a spotlight on lead singer Baden Donegal, in what was a rare moment of intimacy, the show began. From that moment on, a huge, layered sound with epic guitar instrumentals dominated the night. Crowd interaction seemed to be minimal though it’s hard to say if it was due to it being the last date of a tiring tour or just the band’s preferred style. On the other hand, Ocean Alley appeared unfazed and fully immersed as they played through songs like the energetic Hold On or the groovy Freedom Lover and Yellow Mellow. 

One rare quieter moment came with a cover of Player's Baby Come Back which the band has previously performed for triple j’s Like a Version; it felt like a much needed come down from the intensity of the rest of the set. After a majestic but obviously fake ending on the notes of their recent single Happy Sad – a big batch of balloons still hovering above the audience’s heads - the band left only to reappear and finish the set with Confidence.