Risky Summerbee & The Honeythief Bring Rock’n’Roll To Space Theatre – OzAsia Review

[INDONESIA] Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, Sat 26 Sep The Festival Centre precinct is abuzz with hundreds of people taking in the atmosphere of the Adelaide Night Noodle Markets. There are dragon dances and exotic Asian music wafts across the plaza. Inside the Dunstan Playhouse foyer there is a lot going on. This feels like an exciting place to be. The setting in the Space feels like a warehouse, an intimate setting for what is in reality a standard rock gig. A 5-piece band (not the advertised 4-piece) – consisting of bass, drums, guitar, keyboards and a singer who doubles on guitar and keyboards – play at floor level, with not a gamelan or woodwind instrument in sight! All the way from Yogyakarta for a one-off one hour performance, the band plays tracks from their most recent album Pillow Talk, alongside some earlier tracks. The songs are in English, and there is more than a nod to the Oasis end of Brit Pop and English progressive rock influences. Thankfully the volume is at a suitable level for the size of the room, although one or two in the audience who had perhaps been led by the advertising to expect something more ‘smooth and silky’ might beg to differ. Singer Risky Summerbee is personable, and talks to the audience with a disarming smile. His voice is slight while smooth and melodic, perfectly suited to the gentle melodies of songs such as Mind Game, but sometimes a little lost when the band cranks up the tempo and the volume. The visuals are left to lead guitarist, Erwin Zubiyan, who in Revolution performs a ‘playing guitar solo while lying on his back on the floor’ routine and actually keeps playing until a finger is bleeding. This leads to a few moments of hilarity as a member of the audience comes up to supply a tissue, and moments later another is on hand with band-aids! It turns out Erwin is also an accomplished keyboard player, even with fingers bandaged. Flight To Amsterdam is inexplicably introduced as an anthem to human rights in Indonesia. It is difficult to hear why from the lyrics, but this does not detract from enjoyment of the song. This is a relaxed but impressive performance. The audience are clearly enjoying the music, the close proximity to the band, and the invitation to chat and mingle afterwards. An hour well spent. Adrian Miller