Prince of Wales, 17th June

A classic Melbourne night - rainy and freezing - set the scene for a classic gig by The Cat Empire at the Prince of Wales last night, one of the few before their big adventure overseas....

The first set was a throwback to The Cat Empire of old: plenty of mucking around, lots of great music and crazy dancing, both onstage and off. Playing the old favourites and some of the new stuff, including The Lullaby and Protons, Neutrons, Electrons, the crowd lapped up every minute of it and agreed wholeheartedly with Felix when he declared "it's good to be home!" A rousing rendition of The Wine Song left everyone exhausted by the end of the set.

Felix had quite a bit to say about the culture of Melbourne in the second set; about it being about good food, good music and good times, and the crowd were treated to an exhibition of the best the good city had to offer! Two Shoes saw a massive (if not a little long) dancebreak with a couple of the breakdancers from the Hello videoclip and regular special-guests Richard and Johnny Tedesco doing their flamenco thing. The Miserere (which lost its intimacy in the big crowd) was dedicated to Melbourne jazz legend Bob Valentine and Harry's sing-a-long in The Chariot got the Prince of Wales singing so softly you could hear the rain pelting down on the roof outside (when in Melbourne!...)

The Empire Horns were in attendence and, as usual added that extra something... it was definately the night for crazy dancing! A couple of amazing solos by Ollie and a couple from Jumps too, who did warmup duties as well, all made for a fantastic send off for the boys.

Something makes me think that these gigs are only going to get better as the days roll on!

Some quotes from the forums:

lucie:

Felix paused the room with 'Miserere' (i swear i saw a tear in his eye)
but i would have to say the Hornbags really made the night!

See the gigography entry for the setlist and more.