[MUSIC/ROCK ~ CAN] HQ, Adelaide, Sun 30 Jun, 2019. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had the pleasure of seeing The Tea Party and/or Jeff Martin in one of his musical guises, but despite being very familiar with their live set, it’s always a thorough pleasure to see them play! And this most recent performance was as impressive as ever! Concluding their world tour here in Adelaide was pretty special, and the band held nothing back for our enthusiastic crowd. Supported by local band Colibrium, who are an interesting hard rock act that on paper should have been impressive, unfortunately I found it a struggle to get into. Individually, I couldn’t fault the talents of the performers, and the singer had a good voice, but for some reason, the music didn’t do it for me. I still suggest checking them out, as you may have a different opinion to me, but this evening was destined to be all about The Tea Party. Opening with classic tunes The River and The Bazaar back to back (including a sojourn into Tool’s Sober), the pace was set for the evening, with HQ’s packed crowd immediately energising to The Tea Party’s vibe. As Jeff Martin’s dulcet baritone rang out, the stories and interludes between songs began, and the slower paced groove of Psychopomp provided the first taste of light and shade for the evening. Next was our first taste of some new Tea Party material, signalling a renewed energy from the band and clear detour into the dark and bluesy side of the spectrum. Opening with the dark blues of Zeppelin’s In My Time Of Dying, things gave way to Way Way Down, a great bluesy tune with plenty of heavy grunt. The pace changed again for Release and Halcyon Days, before revving back up for the crowd-participation epic Save Me, replete with interludes of Zeppelin’s Kashmir blasting from the speakers. More light and shade with the beautiful Heaven Coming Down and sections of U2’s With Or Without You, before another newie Black River, another awesome and mysteriously dark blues tune, which incorporated yet more Zeppelin with Bring It On Home. The main set was wrapped up nicely by leading us all into Temptation, with a riotous level of crown enthusiasm. Of course, we weren’t ready to let the band be just yet, and they triumphantly returned to the stage for some Winter Solstice, quickly giving way into my favourite Sister Awake. As the tune took its usual twists and turns, there were some extra curveballs, as Paint It Black and even Bowie’s Heroes made their way into the works. Sadly, things had to come to an end, not only for the show, but also for The Tea Party’s tour, and the gracious band thanked all and sundry. Now, we have to wait until next year for another tour, and in all likelihood, some more new music too! Can’t wait! 4.5 stars Luke Balzan Images courtesy of Luke Balzan