Live Review: The Rubens, Little May, Kaitlin Keegan

Beloved Australian rockers, The Rubens, exuded passion and energy at their Fremantle show on Saturday night. Only a few early arrivals were scattered at Metropolis when Perth-native Kaitlin Keegan took the stage. Keegan had won the opportunity to open for The Rubens through a triple j Unearthed competition, and it wasn’t hard to understand why they had chosen her. Keegan has a uniquely beautiful voice that could be compared to the likes of Tash Sultana.

Kaitlin Keegan. Pic by Linda Dunjey.

In fact, think Tash Sultana’s voice with the Middle Kids sound and you’ll have something comparable. After playing a few slightly heavier songs, Keegan took it down a notch and rounded off her performance with Emma, the third track from her EP sadisco. Written about her childhood and her companionship with her sister, this sweet and expressive song truly showcased her talent. Keegan certainly has a bright future ahead of her as an artist. 

Sydney band Little May came on not too long after Keegan. The indie-folk duo were cool, calm and collected, if not a little too cool. Highlights of their performance included two unreleased tracks - the beautiful and intensely moving Backseat Driver and the slightly more upbeat and enlivening Lover. Credit should be given to lead singer Hannah Field for calling out certain members of the audience for their behaviour. During their performance, a few people up the front were screaming out jokingly and messing around. 

 Little May. Pic by Linda Dunjey.

Fields politely asked them if they could save the jokes for the more upbeat and fun songs. “It’s really a special song to me so I hope you can understand why I needed to talk to you about that,” she said. The crowd responded with deafening cheers, evidently agreeing with her. 

At the conclusion of Little May's set, The Rubens didn’t waste any time launching themselves enthusiastically into Go On. This was an interesting choice for the opening song to their performance as it isn’t a particularly popular track, but it certainly invigorated the crowd. The Best We Got, Casper and Hold Me Back followed in quick succession. 

The band’s most recent album, the R&B and soul-infused Lo La Ru, translates really well to a live audience for the most part. While a select few songs perhaps fell short of their potential, like latest single God Forgot, others were met with an exuberant and enthusiastic reception. There were a number of their older tracks interspersed throughout the setlist, with several songs from their debut album The Rubens and later album Hoops. 

The Rubens’ performance went beyond expectations in more ways than one. During the instrumental solo of Cut Me Loose, frontman Sam Margin walked straight into the crowd without a care in the world, intermingling with members of the audience who were both surprised and excited at this kind of interaction. 

“We’ve played a lot of Rubens tonight, so now we’re going to play Chance The Rapper,” Margin announced. Their cover of Same Drugs proved Margin’s exceptional talent as a vocalist. Keegan took the stage once more, joining the boys on stage for a stunning rendition of Never Ever. The emotional duet is truly one of a kind and Keegan’s voice did it every bit of justice. You have to admire The Rubens' commitment to helping young, emerging artists get recognition for their work. 

The band rounded off the performance with their hit single Hoops. The audience, however, had apparently not had enough. Roaring chants of “encore” and “one more song” filled the room, and rhythmic foot stomping reverberated throughout the venue. Alone, Margin returned to the stage to perform their ever-popular 2011 debut single, Lay It Down. The rest of the band shortly followed Margin’s lead, as the song progressed with more alt-rock vibes. Their final song for the night was the upbeat and joyful track, Million Man. The crowd seemed to be the most excited they had been all night, singing along at the top of their lungs. The only issue with this song was that it left you wishing that the concert would never end. The Rubens were at the top of their game and provided a performance that any music lover could enjoy. The five-piece are really making their mark in the Australian music scene.