Review: Greg Phillips. Photos: David Harris
It was back in December 2022 that we last experienced Texan trio Khruangbin in Australia. For Australian Musician, that was in front of a full house at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Over the road at the MCG at the time, Guns n Roses were blasting out hits to ten of thousands of Melburnians. Tonight, Khruangbin played Margaret Court Arena and their venue neighbour was American country star Chris Stapleton on his first Australian tour, playing Rod Laver Arena. You can always rely on a Melbourne crowd to show up for a party.
Hermanos Gutiérrez were Khruangbin’s travelling pals for the tour and kicked off the evening with their hypnotic, melodic tunes, not that dissimilar in sound to the main act but with more of a spaghetti western atmosphere. Chances are the Khruangbin fans were already familiar with Hermanos Gutiérrez’s catalogue and gave the duo the warm reception they richly deserved.
Shortly after, Laura Lee, Mark Speer and Donald Johnson sauntered onto stage and took a position leaning on the ledge of three arched windows at the top of a block of stairs as they eased into Fifteen Fifty-Three, the opening track of their current album A La Sala. After all it is their A La Sala Australian tour and they followed with track two, May Ninth, a tune they played to a polarised global audience on the live Grammys telecast recently. Ada Jean up next and it seems we’re getting the album performed in track order. A La Sala is a very emotive, cinematic album and in this case at a live music arena, a soundtrack to a non-existent film. There’s not a lot happening visually for the music to rise above and have any real impact and the band’s limited choreography doesn’t help. There are only so many crouches, bends, twirls and criss-cross walks from one side of the stage to the other you can view before it becomes a bit passé. Although having said that, the loyal Melbourne fans (first night of two shows here) are well and truly into the vibe coming off stage.
Pon Pón lifts the tempo and heads begin to bob in the crowd, however Todavia Viva brings the mood back down again directly after. Juegos y Nubes is another beautiful, moody piece from the album and in track order is followed by Hold Me Up (Thank You), a lo-fi jam highlighting Mark’s slick fretboard work. Speer and Lee walk to the edge of the stage and sit down as they perform the moody album closer Les Petits Gris. The sound of a rain storm adds to the ambience as raindrops are visible through the arched windows on stage. The band rise from their crouched positions and head backstage for a short break after an impactful section of the show.
There’s no doubt Khruangbin possess the armory to blow the roof off a show if they desire to (they did so here in 2022), Laura’s punchy bass lines and Donald’s hard hitting beats make for a formidable rhythm section and they’re as tight as any band can be. Certainly fans faves like Time (You and I), People Everywhere lifted the energy in the room considerably in the second half but too often the show dynamic lets them down. When the beat’s heatin’ up and the crowd are up for a dance, they often revert back into their cruisy, formulaic lane. Also Mark Speer is undoubtedly a skilled guitarist and master of pedal manipulation, especially his control of delay and reverb but his tone rarely changes. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the show but compared to the Music Bowl performance a few years, where the last half hour became a disco party featuring snippets of grooves from Tom Tom Club, Daft Punk, Kool and The Gang and more, this time it felt a little flat. I guess being the A La Sala album tour, I should have been prepared for a more laid back show this time around. Three years down the track from my last Khruangbin live experience, I feel like the band has been a bit risk adverse and hasn’t really developed. Sure they’ve recorded with Vieux Farka Toure and Leon Bridges to change things up but the overall sound never busts out of that Khruangbin formula. Thinking out loud, I’d be up for a Nile Rodgers produced album or collaboration with a band like The Roots to really break their mould. Irrespective of my views on the show, they still won their loyal fans over who rewarded them with a standing ovation and they’re back in Melbourne tonight before continuing on to Brisbane and Sydney.
