Gomez Thebarton Theatre 03/22/05

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So...I arrived at the Thebarton Theatre not sure what to expect and found a treasure of a venue only a ten minute bus ride from my flat. The theatre was built in 1926 and regardless of many years of renovation, I could picture early Aussie theatre goers and high society piling into the place for a big night on the town. The place actually really reminded me of The El Rey in L.A. Opening for Gomez was Paul Dempsey, the lead singer of Something For Kate, a Melbourne band I have yet to give a listen to. I only caught a few of Dempsey's tunes but was very impressed with him. Perceptive lyrical twists, aching vocals, a dirty guitar backed by a masculine melody,mmm. I will be keeping an eye out for a solo album and/or checking out Something For Kate. On to the main event...I have been a Gomez fan for what seems like forever but have only seen them twice, once in L.A with a bum knee and at the ACL Festival in Austin last September. Well, if you know anything about L.A crowds you know a good one is hard to find and ACL is just too huge was painfully hot this year, so needless to say I was very thrilled to see Gomez in a proper venue with what I hoped to be a great crowd. My expectations were met and then some. Gomez were, suffice it to say, extraordinary! They played for around two hours, covering all points of the band's career, from some of the heavier pulsations from latest album Split The Difference to the quieter moments of days past, We Haven't Turned Around was a particular highlight for me. Screaming singalongs to Get Myself Arrested and Make No Sound were quite incredible, as was the deafening roar produced by the crowd to demand an encore. All in all an amazing show and a great evening, looking forward to more evenings with the music fans of Adelaide!

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