Eskimo Joe @ Fremantle Arts Centre
w/ Adalita
Saturday, October 15, 2022
The return of Fremantle’s prodigal sons to grace the gardens of the Fremantle Arts Centre promised to be a night of rock, nostalgia and fun as Eskimo Joe played through their second and third studio albums, and the trio did not disappoint.
Waiting up to ten months after the original six-date concert series was postponed due to COVID complications, fans of the ‘Eskies’, as casually dubbed by opening songsmith Adalita, would have breathed a sign of relief to line up against the walls of the iconic Fremantle Arts Centre, waiting to jostle for the perfect spot in the centre’s gardens.
Walking towards the Centre yielded a concerning (though slightly hilarious) moment. The sight of lead guitarist Stuart MacLeod outside one of the side gates was enough to justify a short pause nearby, where the conversation with a local security guard could be heard. Bizarrely, this conversation involved MacLeod attempting to convince the guard that he was, in fact, a member of the headlining trio, producing an image of the band’s website to prove it. The conversation’s conclusion remains a mystery, however judging from MacLeod’s enigmatic stage presence throughout the night, it is safe to say the image comparison was successful.
Armed with picnic rugs, sleeping bags, jackets, jumpers, and the occasionally surprising, but objectively bold, dressing gown, and toting cheese-stuffed eskies, the crowd were clearly prepared to settle in for the double feature concert, with the 11x time ARIA Award-winning trio promising to play two of their most famous albums Black Fingernails Red Wine (2006) and A Song Is A City (2004) back-to-back, in their entirety.
As fans settled on the green, perusing the array of food trucks, they were treated to the electronic, folk-like tones of supporting act Adalita. Equipped only with microphone and electronic guitar, the former frontwoman of ARIA-award winning Australian rock band Magic Dirt was an interesting choice for the opening act, playing several personal classics such as The Repairer, Equator and I Want your Love. While not particularly rousing like one might expect for such a prominent act, her surprisingly dulcet electronic sounds, punctuated with impressive guitar riffs, were undoubtedly entertaining and set a cosy mood.
With the promise of full album playthroughs, it was easy to guess the boys were starting with A Song Is a City when they entered the stage to the introduction of Come Down, and promptly began working their way through a mammoth set list. With vocalist and bass guitarist Kavyen Temperley setting the scene before songs with nostalgic stories of song inspiration and band shenanigans, lead guitarist, Stuart MacLeod and drummer and guitarist Joel Quartermain chimed in with jokes and jabs, and the album playthrough offered a fond insight into the enduringly playful dynamic of the band.
Popular fan favourites such as From the Sea, the titular A Song is a City, and Smoke roused people to dance in the mosh and sing along, while constant projections behind the band played through old music videos and provided a visually-captivating display which undoubtedly enhanced the stage experience. Concluding with Car Crash, the audience were let into a little Eskimo Joe ‘behind-the-scenes,’ with Kavyen explaining the significant thought that went into each album’s closing song (and explaining that its origins hilariously came from fearing for his life in his bandmate’s cars), before the first set concluded to booming applause and a rush for the drinks tent.
Throughout the interval, images of the band across the decades played on the main stage, inviting the audience to feel truly connected to the sense of homecoming and reminiscence emphasised throughout the night. Moving into the second act (which was boldly asserted with the band dramatically re-entering to Star Wars’ Imperial March), the band opened Black Fingernails, Red Wine, their third studio album. The titular song Black Fingernails, Red Wine was undoubtedly the highlight for many, however the quiet melancholy of London Bombs before the notoriously confusing and lively song Sarah certainly reinforced the rollercoaster-esque diversity of the Eskimo Joe anthology.
In no time, the audience found themselves in the throes of Suicide Girl, before the band sadly introduced their final song How Does it Feel. Met with massive applause, and almost violent cries for an encore, the band departed after several bows, only to return to play through several other fan favourites. Most notably, Sweater, not played since 2002, saw the band members touting sold-out ‘Eskimo Joe’ sweaters and rocking out in true early-naughties fashion.
Reflecting on this epic night of old favourites, the one striking feature was the age range of fans attending. Sitting on the grassy hill yielded an epic view of the moshing crowds, where young and old rocked and boogied, screamed the words to songs and cheered and screamed side by side, demonstrating just how widely beloved the ‘Eskies’ are in WA, and how enthusiastically Perth people came out to support local, homegrown talent.
BEC WELDON
