Live Review: RUFUS

Coming off five 2016 ARIA nominations and festival shows spanning the globe, and returning for a stellar headline tour, three-piece dance/house outfit RUFUS added 13 regional dates as part of their Full Bloom tour. Despite just coming from a three-night-straight run in Cairns, they’re in fine form for tonight’s Townsville Street Party at the Shamrock Hotel.

Hitting the one-year anniversary of 2016's  highly acclaimed Bloom release, this is the perfect opportunity for the Sydney trio to visit cities that have never taken part in the RUFUS live experience. You can sense that every punter is anxiously waiting for their Saturday-night dancing catharsis; the venue is packing in and the booze is flowing well and truly by the time touring supports Roland Tings and Lastlings take the stage.

There isn't any messing about between the final note of Lastlings’ set and the gear-checks for RUFUS. Stage-hands rush the platform with the odd synth note, bass drop and strobe test, which only makes the crowd more anxious for what’s to come. Finally — with the air still hanging at 27 degrees (with what felt like in excess of 100% humidity) — the band of the hour take the stage.

Within mere minutes of the line-check, the stage lights die down and smoke slowly seeps across the stage. The boys’ intro track starts playing as they make their way to their stations as godly silhouettes among a blue LED backdrop. The strobes almost feed back the anticipation from the sold-out crowd while the epic crescendo of the intro-track, foreshadowed by a drum solo, paves the way for absolute tune Be With You. The infectious disco groove laid down by drummer James Hunt puts a spring in everyone’s heels as the closed-off street venue immediately swings into party mode. It's undeniable that vocalist Tyrone Lindqvist can perform well live among the thumping bass-notes and strobe-lit chaos, and the crowd responds well to the spectacle with harmonious sing-alongs and a roaring applause before Lindqvist dedicates the next track, Brighter, to the Australian sun.

The sun may not have been out, but the north Queensland heat is definitely felt by the thousands of punters in attendance. That has no bearing, of course, on the level of enthusiasm in the room. It's obvious, even this early on, that the trio is a group that goes beyond the efforts of other dance/EDM acts when it comes to performing a great majority of their tracks live. Hunt's hybrid kit keeps the other two in check, with keys/sample pad maestro Jon George constantly switching between using bare hands for the keys and drumsticks for his dual SPD pad setup. While taking on vocal duties, Lindqvist uses keys/synth, while occasionally bringing out the lead guitar for some soothing, tropical melodies. Precision is paramount to pull off this kind of music live, and not once do they fall short with a missed beat or off note. It’s impressive to behold.

The hits and sing-alongs are churned out thick and fast, with Lindqvist occasionally stopping to thank Townsville for all the love and support, and there’s an overwhelming amount of that going on tonight. The open-air event requires that the street lights stay on, which some may think hinders the overall show, but Lindqvist simply loves the fact that, for once, he can actually “see all your beautiful faces”. Bloody charmer.

Midway through, the street party is met with the treat of witnessing Bloom track Hypnotised, which has always been a struggle for the band to perform live due to the soothing guest vocal spot originally provided by Dina Caplan. However, songstress Amy Dowdie, from Lastlings, absolutely takes control of Caplan's parts and makes them her own. This makes for a chilling duet, which spreads goosebumps through the thick humidity and into the crowd.

A mixed bag of thumping favourites from both previous full-length Atlas and the wider Bloom set list keep the energy at peak levels, only to be subdued by the Lindqvist’s come-hither assertion, “We want to take you all on a journey up to the stars with us.”

Bloom’s almost-Pink Floydian closer, Innerbloom, brings a nine-minute trip of anxious build-ups, infectious house beats and inevitable comedown to the unsuspecting street party punters. A sense of relief is felt collectively between the band and the crowd on its final note, as the applause and screams only beckon the group for more.

The group are quick to hasten the heart rate of the gig-goers once again, this time with Take Me, from Atlas. The snare drum is met with strobe lights at every hit while the stage-wide LED show is complimented by oozing smoke, creating a thick, pulsating blue haze.

With no time to spare between Take Me’s end and the inevitable encore, punters prepare themselves by getting onto the broadest shoulders nearest to them while they wait anxiously for the trio to return to the stage to finally end the evening with their chart-topping single You Were Right. By this time, there isn't a square inch of dry skin that hasn't been given the north Queensland humidity treatment. None of this hinders the three in delivering an extended cut of the tune, which coaxes one extra sing-along from the crowd before it reaches the end of RUFUS' first taste of Townsville.

Drum sticks are thrown into the crowd and set-lists are handed down to those lucky few in the first few rows who have been shouldering the burden as sweat sandwiches throughout the performance; a lucky few mementos from an unforgettable evening, shared by thousands. Lundqvist advises that the next time they do arrive in Townsville, it will be with new music; time to book the next Street Party ticket then.