Rudimental
With Sneaky Sound System
Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre
What a pairing! I had been anticipating this gig for ages, and the Toast to our Differences tour hit the jackpot by hooking up with legends Sneaky Sound System to support international superstars Rudimental.
Sneaky Sound System (Black Angus and Connie Mitchell) just cracked open the party atmosphere from the time they hit the stage. While the was little doubt that classics I Love It, Kansas City, and Pictures would be crowd favorites, there was plenty of love shown for more recent numbers We Love and Big. A personal standout was a mashup of Marky Mark’s Good Vibrations and Ride on Time by Blackbox. More please! They stomped out the set with UFO and I floated back to all the best parties that I’ve ever been to – you can’t help but lift your mood when the Sneakies are around. Much dancing was had by all.
Then it was batter up, Rudimental. If the vocal contributions from the crowd across the set were anything to go by, there’s a lot of secret in car karaoke going on when a Rudimental track hits the airwaves. I haven’t been at an event for years that has shown such love for the act via massaoke on a grand scale as Rudimental evoked on Sunday night. Refusing to be pigeonholed by style, Rudimental moved between reggae, blues, and all out drum and bass effortlessly, and managed to squeeze in a number of new tracks from their latest release alongside their impressively successful back catalogue of established hits. I was curious to see how they would make them all work without the collective of contributors and collaborators that have fronted with Rudimental over their time as an act (Emili Sandé, Ed Sheeran and Macklemore amongst them). Their touring vocalists were more than up to the task, and brought a bubbly enthusiasm to the stage that was well matched with long standing crew. Piers Aggett led from the front in a locally acquired Adelaide Reds soccer jersey, and it was generally brilliant to see a band have such a great time on stage. I couldn’t help but feel they would make an excellent closing act for a future WOMAD festival (hint hint, organisers!) with their infectious groove that seeped a global party vibe.
The crowd left buzzing and could easily have headed to an afterparty – school night or not. Total fan pleaser, and the best way to end a weekend.
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