HEADLINER: ICEHOUSE
SUPPORT: KAREN LEE ANDREWS / ESKIMO JOE
DATE: FEBRUARY 18TH 2023
VENUE: RIVERSTAGE BRISBANE
REVIEWER: HEAR 2 ZEN
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW TREADWELL PHOTOGRAPHY

Icehouse made a triumphant return to Brisbane, after some false starts and the “curse of what covid did”, the Riverstage was more a sea than a river, a see of fans ready to relive the hits of one of Australia’s musical treasures.

Kicking off the night was Karen Lee Andrews, who let the afternoon sun fade to a set of sounds from all genres. The vibe she and her band brought to the stage was the perfect backdrop to begin the evening.

Next up West Australia’s favorite sons Eskimo Joe. Kav and Co are always out to take no prisoner on the stage. The beauty of the boys in the opening slot is they go into a non stop hit fest. From our vantage point we over heard one punter say to his wife “I cannot believe how many of their songs I knew the words to”
That’s the staying power of a band, when someone who thinks they wont know many songs, basically knew them all.

Showing our age here, we remember the first Flowers record, before the band changed to Icehouse. So it made it only fitting than Iva and Co. started with the song with the title of the band. As usual, visuals are an integral part of the Icehouse experience. I remember seeing them at The Horden Pavilion back on the Man Of Colours tour and being awestruck on how the light seem to almost envelope the wall, ceiling and then audience, all perfectly to the music, It was a tribal meditation. 2023, was no different, still tribal, still meditative and still all enveloping.

The entire band is brilliant but I will say Michael Paynter is Iva’s secret weapon, both vocally and on the synths/keys. He adds the textures that you hear on the albums which is what is needed to make the experience a total one. Kav Temperley joined in for We Can Get Together which was a bloody awesome duet of sorts. What can top that icehouse taking on The Angels Marseilles and then ending the night with the anthemic Nothing To Serious

In their 5th decade as a band, Icehouse satisfied old fans and turned on some new ones, while Iva said he has an album in the can he wont release until he moves on beyond this earth I think its safe to say if he released it now, a lot of people will be picking up a copy. What A Night!