LIVE REVIEW: Spacey Jane & Friends @ Badlands Bar
If, for whatever reason, you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or so and haven’t yet taken the time to listen to the seemingly most talked-about band in WA right now, you’d better get their new record spinning or grab a ticket to one of their upcoming gigs to see what you’ve been missing out on. Spacey Jane set the room on fire on Friday night alongside accompanying acts at Badlands Bar, and to say that the Freo four piece have blossomed since the last time they played here in Perth would be a significant understatement.
The sold-out gig was originally set to take place in late March. However, due to the restrictions that devastatingly put live music on hold for several months, the rescheduled date of September 4th was announced and thus created quite an extensive build-up for ticket holders. The phase 5 lifting of COVID-19 venue restrictions was then pushed back again to late October, which resulted in the gig further being split across two nights, in order to comply with acceptable capacity standards.
On the bright-side, this date change meant that gig goers would now get to see the band’s new album, Sunlight - which was released in June - live. The capacity restrictions also created all the more room within the cosy venue for unconstrained grooving amongst the notably lively crowd.
This high-energy crowd didn’t just stem on its own, though. Through the astounding performances of two local opening acts, both excitement and a new-found appreciation for the return of live music was built up amongst the crowd from the very beginning of the night.
Opening first was local indie hip-hop artist Rami. Emerging onto the stage alongside his band only shortly after the doors of the venue had opened, the crowd was at a low capacity. But throughout the performance of his debut single ‘Psycho’, as well as the other 4 singles he’s since released, Rami took the low number of attendees lightly, by stating - with a chuckle - “There’s only about 20 people in here, but I think all 20 of you guys have been clapping, so… that’s a good thing, right?”, which was received admirably by the small-but-mighty crowd, who responded with encouraging cheers.
I was surprised to later find out that Rami had only released his first single in September of last year, and only performed his first gig 2 months later in December. From the way he coolly paced the stage as he performed his futuristic singles, whilst interacting cheekily with his band and those watching him, I would’ve guessed that he’d been doing shows for years. He closed his performance with a cover of ‘Drift’ by indie-rock band and local WA favourite Great Gable, which fit snugly into his setlist and became the cherry on top of his mellow vibe as the crowd sang along with him.
During the intermission that followed, the crowd began to inflate throughout the rustic venue in preparation for Ghost Care, indie pop-rock band who’ve previously joined Spacey Jane for a generous handful of gigs. This included their “Back on the Road” trip around WA that took place throughout August, in which they rolled out an impressive 11 shows over 14 days, travelling from Kalgoorlie through to Broome whilst making many stops along the way. The Perth band were welcomed by cheers as they passionately worked their way through their discography - from their 2019 debut single, ‘Another’ to their most recent release, ‘IDKY’. They made the reason they’re such good pals with Spacey Jane pretty clear - they effuse a similar genuine excitement to perform, and looked pretty stoked to have such a buzzing crowd to pour their crafty tunes out to. Their performance was well received, and by the end of it, the crowd was fluttering with chatter about how long we’d all waited for this night.
And finally, after months of waiting and an experience of a momentary loss of live music that nobody saw coming, it was time for Spacey Jane to perform their first Perth show since Laneway Festival back in February - which, due to everything that’s happened since, feels like a lifetime ago.
The crowd erupted with euphoria as the four members excitedly walked out onto the stage, smiling widely and looking more than excited to be back home and doing what they love. They wasted no time, breaking straight into ‘Thrills’ - a fire-starting track from their 2017 EP, No Way to Treat an Animal. Alongside unbelievable encouragement from the crowd, the band worked through their discography old and new, and poured immense energy into every song - as well as an immeasurable number of hair-flicks from members Caleb and Ashton.
There’s something mesmerising about seeing a band perform in their hometown, and it’s even more captivating to see their reaction when the whole crowd appears to know every lyric of their entire setlist. It’s been over a year since the band was made known to me when I saw them open for Ball Park Music in June last year. I remember especially loving the performance of their well-known song ‘Feeding the Family’, which now has over 7 million streams on Spotify. As I watched their performance of ‘Feeding the Family’ on Friday night, it was made clear to me within seconds that through the intense encouragement and rapid growth of such a loyal fanbase, their confidence and stage presence has skyrocketed beyond compare.
Towards the end of the show, following the performance of fresh track ‘Booster seat’ (which, in my opinion, is their best song to date), lead-vocalist and guitarist Caleb stared out into the crowd gleefully.
“It’s fucking good to be home.”
The band then performed ‘Good for You’ - another popular track which impressively placed in Triple J’s ‘Hottest 100 of 2019’ - and proceeded to wave goodbye to the crowd as they walked off stage.
But the crowd wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. The band had barely faded from view when the eruption of chants demanding an encore began.
Spacey Jane was back on stage and hyping the crowd up once again within no time to play two more songs. The up-beat 2017 tune ‘Still Running’ was up first, which caused the pinnacle of energy all night to emit from both the band and the crowd, and ‘Cold Feet’, which finished off the performance phenomenally.
Appreciative goodbyes were then waved from all members to the crowd, which continued to roar even after they’d left the stage.
The lights then came on to confirm that the show really was over. The exchange of speechless and dazed looks between strangers among the crowd that followed is enough to articulate why Spacey Jane has become a household name throughout Australia. It’s not even worth asking whether they were worth the wait.