Sticky Fingers – Enmore Theatre, Sydney 15/04/16

Flowing bevvies, a sold-out Enmore Theatre and some psychedelic rock courtesy of Sticky Fingers all in one night. In the words of the Sydney locals themselves: “Welcome to the land of pleasure”.

The second of three sold out shows at the venue this weekend, it’s hard to believe that, just six years ago, the quintet ever struggled to get a spot on a lineup.

The night kicked off with Will And The People, who brought their raucous punk rock all the way from the UK. Smashing out a setlist including the likes of Lion In The Morning Sun (which involved the crowd’s very own rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight), WATP was just what the eager punters, who’d already begun to latch themselves to the barriers, needed.

If you’ve never heard of King Tide before, you probably wouldn’t believe the funk-fueled beats, tooting brass section and husky reggae vocals that were produced by these post-middle aged dudes from Sydney. “I loooove hip hop, but reggae is my life,” the frontman growled. By the time the group wrapped up, the crowd had well and truly worn in their dancing shoes.

“Sticky! Sticky! Sticky!” the crowd begged. As the house lights lowered again and the fog machine spewed mist around the stage, a roar of screams and stamping feet erupted in the theatre. Silhouettes of the boys appeared on the stage, with keyboardist Freddy Crabs sporting a modest outfit of boxer briefs, long white socks and sneakers. Frontman Dylan Frost, on the other hand, had channelled his rockstar persona, sporting a white and paint splattered 70s-style suit, his signature mop of black curls and sunglasses.

Opening with synth-soaked keyboards and a funk-infused guitar riff, the Sticky boys plunged into Land of Pleasure. When the opening riff of These Girls rolled in, the eager crowd launched into the first verse before Frost had even got a chance to open his mouth. “Hey!” he said, reigning the crowd in with a cheeky grin. “When I’m lying in her arms, I’ll be thinking ’bout you,” he crooned.

When the irresistibly sleazy beat of Gold Snafu wormed its way into the set, STIFI were bathed in a rainbow of kaleidoscopic light as girls shot up on to shoulders throughout the crowd. On the britpop-sounding Just For You, the tinkling keyboard and monster drum beats had Frost dancing around the stage in reckless abandon. As well as some of these old gems, the Stickies also treated fans to two new tracks off of their forthcoming album, which is due for release in October. In true Sticky Fingers style, both featured shredding guitar solos, vocal variety from cooing to deep growls and dash of reggae.

In between an otherwise manic set, the night veered to a more mellow vibe with the likes of Liquorlip Loaded Gun and How To Fly. After growling and almost rap-like vocals, these tracks showed off a cleaner side to Frost’s range as he sang over sweeping keyboard melodies and guitar riffs with the help of the crowd. This calm was short lived, though, and rumbling reverb akin to rolling thunder introduced psych-rock track Dreamland. With a cameo appearance of musical oddity Kirin J Callinan on guitar (because why the hell not?), Frost was free to strut the stage and conduct the crowd’s gang vocals on high. When STIFI flew through new track Outcast At Last, the boys from Will And The People also graced the stage again and showered the crowd with beer and water.

After announcing that this would be the final song (‘sif we’d fall for that), bassist Paddy Cornwall dedicated it to some friends of theirs in the crowd before breaking into Australia Street. Once again, the eager crowd jumped into the verse before Frost got a chance, meaning they got to sing it twice by the time he’d chimed in. As the crowd transformed into a sea of flying limbs and crowd surfers, punters upstairs sang arm in arm and stamped their feet with a force that shook the Enmore balcony. In that moment, Frost’s lyric “for the rest of my life that memory will stay. Man, fuck that was a good time,” never rang truer.

While the on-stage banter had been pretty limited throughout the set, Cornwall took the time to quickly thank the crowd when STIFI rejoined the stage. “This is our neighbourhood, too, and to play a show like this is fucking everything to us.” The boys rounded up the set with absolute cracker Freddy Crabs, mellow Lazerhead and an unrehearsed rendition of Headlock. Sydney may be described as the capital of the nanny state, but when Sticky Fingers are back in town, it sure feels like the opposite.

Gallery: Sticky Fingers @ The Enmre Theatre, Sydney 2016 / Photos By Liam

#stickyfingers #killingit at the #enmoretheatre last night. #band #music #musician #drums #guitar #vocals @seamusjackcoyle

A video posted by Daniel Tsoltoudis (@dantsoltoudis) on Apr 15, 2016 at 5:05pm PDT

#stickyfingers #concert #stillinmyhead #goodmorning #goodvibes #buensabordeboca

A video posted by luisa arnoso (@luisaarnoso) on Apr 15, 2016 at 4:59pm PDT