Cell Block 69 - The Basement Party Stadium

 

Cell Block 69
The Basement Party Stadium
23 December 2022

Is there anything better than seeing the original artist doing the original hits?

Music in the 80s were all about fun and Cell Block 69 certainly know all about fun. But first a bit of background. Cell Block 69 are an 80s covers band. The thing that separates Cell Block 69 from other covers bands is the conceit they bring to the show. You enter an alternative universe when you go to a Cell Block 69 concert. The story is that they wrote all the songs and then they were brazenly stolen by the famous artists who made them (insert booming voice) “international number one hits”. 

Everyone in the band is called Corey or a variation of Corey. You’ve got Duanne Le Corey Micheals, Corey Sambori, Corey RoKK-SiXXXxxXXX, Corey Anne-Kennerly, Kori the Artist formerly known as Corey, Corey Baden Baden Baden Baden Powell, Corey Ography. Not only that, but the band have all the moves and all the costumes straight from the 80s. They’re pretty authentic.

It’s this schtick that brings the audience into the joke and into the show. The band had the audience in the palm of their hands from the first bar. Side note… it’s handy having a back catalogue of all killer, no filler hit songs. Anthemic hits like Girls on Film, Walk Like an Egyptian, Electric Blue. You name it they wrote it!

It’s quite something being in the audience and knowing all the songs and being able to sing along to every word. Not only that, but the whole audience knows every song. I think that’s really the key to this gig. The audience really lean into the 80s vibe with everyone dressing up in 80s gear. I’ve not seen so much neon and taffeta outside of a blue light disco!

So, is anything better than seeing the original artist doing the original hits?  This. This is better. 

The Killers - Qudos Bank Arena

 

 

The Killers
Qudos Bank Arena
19 December 2022

 

 

Comparing The Killers to a school speech is a stretch but hear me out.

It takes a certain confidence to start your show like other bands finish theirs. The Killers opened the final show of the Imploding the Mirage tour like most other bands play an encore.  Streamers, confetti, explosions. Most importantly lots of big hits! It was an impressive opening.

The Killers are one of those bands that span generations.  In fact they’re one of the last of the big bands. Around 2005 when streaming started to take over as the medium of choice the number of bands that were able to make a mark across the wider culture seemed to diminish. That’s not to say that there weren’t great bands that came after this date, but bands like Coldplay, Arctic Monkey and The Killers were some of the last bands that had a cultural impact beyond just music fans. Not many bands since have been able to do that.  

The Killers, at their best, are a mix of U2 and the Smiths, with a dash of Depeche Mode and the Cure thrown in. You can see why I like them. It’s no surprise that I’ve indoctrinated my children into liking the band and they were (more or less) willing participants in attending the concert. I guess it goes to my main point that the Killers are one of the last intergenerational bands. The crowd was full of people of all ages. Sometimes I feel that it is more important who you go to a concert with than who you go to see.
 
If, after such an impressive start, the show flagged in the middle I guess that was understandable. But as my wise companions said, how else do you get to know the new songs if they don’t play them? They had a fair point.

However, when you’ve got songs like Human (given a new electro treatment), Somebody Told Me and main set closer All These Things That I’ve Done in your kit bag things were never really in doubt.

The actual encore of Spaceman and Mr Brightside was enough to make the crowd go wild and have me reminded by my children of some advice that I gave them "when giving a speech as long as you start well and finish well, it doesn’t really matter if you get a bit lost in the middle”. That kind of summed up the show.   

There was something great about sharing this gig with my newest gig buddies. As the Mastercard ad goes, ticket price = hundreds of dollars.  Going with your adult children = priceless.