Continuing the Australian leg of their tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of critically acclaimed album Get To Heaven, Everything Everything hit the stage of Melbourne’s Forum in front of a packed crowd to play the deluxe version of the record in full.
Read our chat with Jonathan Higgs about touring Get To Heaven after 10 years here.
The night kicks off with a beautifully stripped back, intimate performance from former Wild Beasts frontman Hayden Thorpe. Armed with nothing more than a guitar, his distinctive operatic vocals and affable charm, the British singer songwriter might seem like a strange choice of support to the typically high energy performance one has come to expect from Everything Everything, but Hayden has the crowd spellbound throughout a set that, though short, manages to cover a broad range of his career so far.
The lights cut out and darkness falls. Spotlights of vibrant colour pulse across the stage to a droning beat before Everything Everything make their appearance before a rapturous crowd clearly ready for an electrifying night, and from the first isolated vocals of To The Blade to the final notes of Cold Reactor, the Jonathan Higgs fronted band do not disappoint.
Get To Heaven is an album of deep contrasts. Its dark, political and sometimes violent lyrics and themes that chart the societal decay that has only become increasingly harder to ignore in the decade since its release are juxtaposed with a bold, experimentally chaotic and often upbeat sound, resulting in an album dripping with irony. It is quite the achievement to translate this to a live setting, and Everything Everything have pulled it off incredibly well.
Even so, there’s always a danger when playing an album in its entirety, even one as well loved as Get To Heaven, that beyond the most popular hits there will be some songs that just don’t resonate with an audience as much, but any fears to this end are quickly dispelled. This is in no small part thanks to what is clearly a very carefully constructed setlist that reorders the album into a mesmerising musical journey that effortlessly pulls the audience along through the bombastic highs of hits like Distant Past, Regret, and No Reptiles, to its quieter, more considered moments.
Kaleidoscopic lighting drowns the stage in rich saturated hues, pulsating to the beat and soaking the music in a deep, visually arresting atmosphere. It is a night for celebration and everyone in the room is in the partying mood. They must have read my review of the Biffy Clyro show and decided to try to take out the award for audience participation, because the crowd is in full voice tonight. I don’t think Jon had to sing anything for the first minute or so of Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread, so loud were the voices singing back to him.
Rounding out the night with a short encore of songs from other albums, including the tour debut of Enter The Mirror, the band can mark down another incredible night of captivating, euphoric live music and celebration.