The Drones' Gareth Liddiard at Thornbury Theatre, Photographs by Zo Damage
The return of The Drones has caused a minor but genuine frenzy.
What was originally intended as a “six show run for fun” has ballooned into an 18-stop tour plus festival appearances in Darwin and Wollongong. The Aus rock nostalgia circuit is a bloated field, but the scale of The Drones’ all-but-sold-out tour is a testament to the band’s cult status.
The Mess Hall were an appropriate opener, dishing out bluesy alt rock smattered with mid-song tempo shifts and snaking guitar lines. The duo’s sound didn’t quite fill the cavernous Thornbury Theatre, but their two “disco” tracks gave the crowd a welcome nudge in the waist – although it didn’t seem like anyone had come to dance.
The Drones’ impressive 90-plus minute set featured fan favourites from across the band’s catalogue, with frontperson Gareth Liddiard occasionally breaking the heavy mood to indulge in a bit of lighthearted banter (and some shushing for good measure).
The set opened with Private Execution and Taman Shad from 2016’s Feelin Kinda Free. Mid-way through came I See Seaweed and Locust, where muscular guitars and crashing cymbals created a raucous backdrop for Liddiard’s menaced balladeering. Fiona Kitschin was a mountainous force throughout, delivering rumbling basslines and sweet, crisp vocals, which especially stood out during ‘Sitting on the Edge of the Bed Cryin” and the glorious ‘Shark Fin Blues’.
The set culminated in the energetic kiss-off ‘I Don’t Ever Want to Change’. Fans that stuck around for the encore were treated to a cover of The Cramps’ ‘New Kind of Kick’ before spilling out onto High Street.
These days, Liddiard and Kitschin’s main priority is Tropical Fuck Storm, a band whose music feels esoteric and fluid. It’s a contrast to The Drones’ lean and dirgy rock’n’roll, which often centres on tales of darkness and despair. Even if this reunion is only short-lived, The Drones remain a singular and commanding voice in Australian music thanks to the depth of their catalogue and the conviction behind their playing.
The Drones performed at Thornbury Theatre, on stolen Wurundjeri land, on Saturday 15 August.
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