“How was soundcheck?” I ask Patrick and Jack Pierce as they come off stage ahead of their headline slot at the Brudenell Social Club. “A bit tricky today”, Patrick tells me. You wouldn’t have known it.
From their first steps onto the stage they have the attention of the whole room, and it’s pretty packed out. Smiles break out as they shout that they want to start the night off by dancing with us, commanding us to jump on the drop of the song. Those smiles don’t fade until they leave, and likely for some time after.
The concert plays out almost more like a stand-up set with musical interludes, with the boys riffing off one another with the kind of ease that makes you question whether twin telepathy really is real. From the reveal that they got the venue name printed wrong on merch (shall we just rename it the Brundenell? At least it's now limited edition?) to Jack’s dancing over to the forgotten harmonica, when you aren’t singing along it’s because you’re laughing with them.
An absolute standout track is ‘Take Me Out’, a song Jack says they haven’t played for a solid two years, but returns a triumph – introducing a couple more bluesy songs with a harder edge. It’s an attention grabber amongst their recorded tracks, and a belter to hear live.
‘Genevieve’, a song about their sister, is preceded by a story of their former tour manager Harry. The boys wax lyrical about Harry and their time working with him as well as touring with Tash Sultana, and you almost forget they are talking about their sister until her engagement to Harry is revealed. The song is long, as are most, but you relish in its progression.
Jack runs around and through the crowd, high-fiving people and drumming on every and any available surface. At one point he finds his place in the back of the room, making the audience into tennis spectators: switching their attention between the two as Patrick turns the guitar into a drum also on ‘Self Portrait’ - his tribute to fellow Aussie guitarist John Butler. The didgeridoo is used sparingly but is mesmerising; it is the perfect taste of home.
When asked why they chose to release a live album with the recent ‘Three Deep Breaths’, they spoke of the nature of capturing their sound:
“All of our success and all the things we’ve done has really come from our live performances [...] we’ve always had trouble getting that live vibe across” said Patrick, with Jack adding that “It was just time that we had enough songs that we could do a really good representation of everything we’ve done over the last few years”.
It really is quite the collection they’ve built up, and something that has to be experienced to be truly appreciated.
It’s a shame they’re taking a break, but it’s one that’s well deserved. As they go off to reunite with Tim Tams and the sun in the great Down Under, they also start to work on their next album. We look forward to welcoming them back.
Words by Georgia Carroll
Pierce Brothers played Brudenell Social Club on Monday 7th October.
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