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PRIMAL SCREAM
+ Gut Health
@ Hindley Street Music Hall,
Adelaide,
14th January 2025
(Live Review)

Review and photos by Colin Reid (@cdrimagery)

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PRIMAL SCREAM / Photo – @cdrimagery

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Opening for Primal Scream was Gut Health, a six-piece band from Melbourne. Led by the wonderfully named vocalist Athina Uh Oh, they delivered a short but punchy set of hypnotic dance-punk energy. They are a really interesting band and their material was clearly familiar to a sizeable number of the crowd, who reacted appreciatively with whoops, hollers and generous applause.

The rhythm section was incredibly tight, driving the songs at a frenetic pace with bass, drums, and percussion. They have an infectious post-punk dance vibe, and their vocalist both loves and owns the stage and her crowd. At one point, she jumped from the stage into the pit to sing with fans in the front row. The intensity of the set built to a peak with their final songs, ‘The Recipe’ and ‘Stiletto,’ from their album of the same name. ‘Stiletto’ was incredible, seemingly endless—a driving hypnotic trance played at 100 mph, full of passion and vigour.

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GUT HEALTH / Photo – @cdrimagery

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Only the lower level of Hindley Street Music Hall was open tonight, and while not totally packed, it was pretty much full of punters with a building sense of expectation. The band took the stage with vocalist Bobby Gillespie looking suitably cool, his long black hair falling onto the shoulders of his white suit, which glowed against his snakeskin boots and one of the finest western shirts imaginable. Equally cool were guitarist Andrew Innes and bass player Simone Butler, and although all three looked like they were dressed from different decades, they seemed perfect.

Primal Scream are promoting their new album ‘Come Ahead,’ and we were treated to a 17-song set list that was a near equal mix of new material and old classics. The new songs held their own against the more familiar tracks, and it is definitely an album worth checking out.

Primal Scream’s albums have varied between dance and straightforward bluesy rock and roll. They made their breakthrough with the third album ‘Screamadelica,’ featuring significant remixing of tracks that turned them into trippy psychedelic acid house dance numbers. They followed up with ‘Give Out but Don’t Give Up,’ which sounds like an homage to The Rolling Stones in their late 60s early 70s deep south Americana phase. With such variation in their material, you might wonder how this could be delivered live? They chose to rework the more experimental dance numbers, giving the guitar a much more prominent role. Songs were played loud and with menace. Interestingly, Andrew had one of his guitar pedals decked out like the album cover of ‘Screamadelica.’ I’m not sure if that was there to take the place of the electronica sounds on those songs or not, but it certainly looked very cool. Andrew was incredible throughout the whole show, his guitar dishing out punchy riffs, full of crunch and so very loud! I particularly enjoyed his interplay with the saxophone on a couple of numbers. Providing a touch of lightness and harmony over the top of the band’s sound, two backing singers replicated the new album perfectly.

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PRIMAL SCREAM / Photo – @cdrimagery

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Bobby danced all night, he was swaying, clapping, and delivering terrific vocals. He interacted very little with the crowd, offering occasional encouragements but keeping them to a minimum. He certainly doesn’t come across as one of those “hey, it’s great to be back, we love you” type of guys, barely cracking a smile throughout the night. I’ve not seen them before, so I can’t comment if that is just his thing or not. It isn’t important; simply by constantly swaying his hips and shoulders, shaking his head, and occasionally tossing his hair, he had the whole crowd moving along in a hard-edged dance party. There was scarcely a head not moving in the crowd; it was infectious.

Primal Scream have written some amazing urban hymns across their career. Think ‘Movin’ On Up’ and ‘Come Together,’ as examples and they have done it again with ‘Ready To Go Home’ from the new album. Equally good is another new track, ‘Deep Dark Waters,’ which I’d strongly recommend you listen to, the album version having a delicious melody lightly tripping over the top of the dark subject matter of the song.

As great as the first half of the set was, with ‘Jailbird’ being another standout, the show kicked into another gear with the oldest song on the set list. Bobby’s incredible performance during ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’ was a highlight for me. The emotion he imparted was incredible. The song is 35 years old but still feels raw and genuine.

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PRIMAL SCREAM / Photo – @cdrimagery

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From here on, everything was unforgettable. ‘Love Ain’t Enough’ had Bobby alternating between gripping the mic stand with both hands, intense and focused, to then spreading his hands and arms out to their full span, holding the crowd in his attention.

The regular set concluded with a trio of massive songs: ‘Loaded,’ ‘Movin’ On Up,’ and ‘Country Girl.’ The crowd was right into the action now. ‘Loaded’ is probably one of the greatest dance groove rock songs ever recorded, and ‘Movin’ On Up’ probably the greatest secular spiritual song of all time, but for me, ‘Country Girl’ topped everything else. It was simply amazing!

A short break was taken before they returned with ‘Melancholy Man,’ ‘Come Together,’ and finally concluded with the anthemic ‘Rocks.’ Bobby held the mic stand to the crowd and gave us a turn to sing, Andrew threw out guitar picks, and set lists were passed to the crowd. It had been a wonderful gig, and all expectations, high as they were, had been surpassed.

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PRIMAL SCREAM / Photo – @cdrimagery

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Check out Colin Reid’s (@cdrimagery) full gallery of this event HERE

Check out Cam Brown’s (@cambrownvisuals) full gallery of the Melbourne event at The Forum event HERE

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PRIMAL SCREAM / Photo – @cdrimagery

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Follow PRIMAL SCREAM:
​Website – Facebook – Instagram – X
 TikTok – YouTube – Spotify – Apple Music

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PRIMAL SCREAM / Photo – @cdrimagery

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Press Release 16th September 2024 (below) HERE

PRIMAL SCREAM
announce Australian Tour
January 2025

First Live Shows Down Under Since 2018

Tickets On Sale Friday 20 September

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AMNPLIFY – DB