Pierce Brothers – District 14 Narre Warren – 23 August 2024
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos by Jason Rosewarne and Brea Martin
Pierce Brothers are an Australian indie-folk rock duo consisting of Jack and Patrick Pierce. Identical twin brothers who grew up in East Ringwood in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne, just a stone throw from District 14 – Narre Warren where they performed tonight.
Pierce Brothers are renowned for their dynamic shows and tonight they certainly lived up to this reputation. The twins delivered an incredible, high energy, engaging, fun show and had fans beaming with joy, love and happiness. The connection and interaction they have with their audience is next level. Their festive, feel-good music creates a unity amongst the audience and looking around the bandroom, everyone is in such a jovial mood, hugging, dancing, jumping, singing along with them to their music. It really is a beautiful experience!
Pierce Brothers started off busking in Melbourne’s Bourke Street back in 2011 and over time gained huge popularity and had tongues wagging about this band you must see live. Now they have a huge worldwide fanbase which has seen them travel the globe playing in small and large venues and major festivals over the past 10 years.
Thankfully I have been fortunate enough to see the Pierce Brothers perform a multitude of times over the past 10 years at a variety of venues and festivals. Watching them perform is something incredibly special. The twins are so in sync with each other and their music, harmony, passion, energy and the musicianship on stage is captivating. As much as I’m throwing superlatives at the band here, in all honesty there are no words that can truly describe just how mesmerising their live shows are, so you’ve just got to see and experience them for yourself.
You have Jack who is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist that one would say is high energy and looks like he has ants in his pants the way he jumps around the stage and occasionally into the crowd. On the subject of pants, early in the show Jack totally cracked up laughing with some fans at the front barrier. Patrick looked across at Jack and said let the rest of us in on the joke. Jack said at their last gig he performed the whole show with his jeans fly down and was only told after the show by fans. A few songs in tonight and Jack thought by the crowd response that he had done it again and tried to discreetly do a fly check. Everyone cracked up (I guess you had to be there).
Jack plays electric guitar, floor tom, bongos, didgeridoo, mandolin, harmonica and literally drums on anything that makes some form of noise. Jack has a unique, almost mischievous stage manner the way he cheekily smiles and engages with the crowd and dances about. Jack always goes into the audience and interacts with fans as he plays drums on tables, poles, bars and the floor. Tonight while Jack was up the back of the bandroom, a fan told him to jump up on the table only to discover the table was on wheels. The fan started pushing the table through the audience back towards the stage. It looked like Jack was on a ship sailing through the sea of fans as he sailed back towards the stage. It was hilarious and a sight to see. Jack said to Patrick we need to include that in our shows going forward. You cannot but love Jack as he is always smiling, jovial, funny, playful and oozes with so much joy and happiness.
As they went to sing their mountain song, Jack talked about his Jack Russell called Kanko who he had named after a beautiful mountain in Japan from a trip they did years ago. He said Kanko is a crazy, manic, hyper kinda dog that can drive him crazy at times. Patrick said that when he visits his twin Jack, Kanko gets confused and thinks he is Jack, but his behavioural patterns change and the dog is more mellow and chilled. You realise as they talk more about Kanko, that the dog has adopted the same personality, high energy and craziness as Jack. Hilarious!
Patrick sings and plays acoustic guitar and is the more mellow, chilled one of the identical twin brothers. During the show, Patrick talks about other Australians buskers like John Butler and said he has always loved John Butler playing Ocean. Patrick has his own version of Ocean he played during the show giving Jack a well-earned rest.
Tonight they played a wonderful set of music consisting of songs such as – Golden Times, Genevieve, Amsterdam, It’s Alright, Kanko, Overdose, Flying Home, Brother, Bottle, and White Dress. They announced they have 4 new songs more or less written and now they are at the end of their tour, they are going to head into the studio and work on a new album.
Both Jack and Patrick are such humble guys and talked to the crowd about how incredibly privileged they are to be doing what they love and enjoy. Creating and playing music for a living. They thanked the fans for coming along, supporting and buying their music and their fans come away from the show smiling, feeling amazing and loving life.
I would like to dedicate this review to my late partner, soulmate, best friend and gig buddy Wendy Louise Turner who sadly lost her battle to ovarian cancer in 2022 aged 52 (Gone too soon). It was Wendy that introduced me to Pierce Brothers over 10 years ago and we saw them together an abundance of times as they were her favourite band. Wendy, I know you were with us tonight dancing and singing along to the magnificent Pierce Brothers. May you Rest & Rock in Peace x
