The Sydney outfit DAPPLED CITIES clearly come to life when performing live.
Dappled Cities
Much to the delight of the the audience, seemingly made up of an assortment of die hard fans and new recruits, the group delivered an evening of 80s tinted pop fit for dancing.
Touring to launch their LP Lake Air, new material took up the bulk of the evenings hour long set. The recent tracks include shades of Pat Benatar and 10cc woven between indie pop riffs. Something clearing is working as fans adore the new release and the LP has recently earned an ARIA nomination for Best Independent Release. Clearly pleased that Lake Air was the set centrepiece of the evening, guitarist/vocalist Tim Derricourt exclaimed on multiple occasions how happy the collective was to have the new album out. Indeed, the way the tunes rolled out over the set was concrete evidence of the band’s belief in their music and their happiness while performing it.
Derricourt along with vocalist/guitarist Dave Rennick demonstrated a wide range of their vocal abilities while running a gambit from the pop fueled tracks into the set’s quieter moments, such as the sombre ‘Wooden Ships’ and a melodic rendition of the piano-led ‘Waves’.
While these quieter moments worked, the five-piece really came together when presenting Lake Air’s dance inspired tracks. Taking a cue from the incessant synthesizer rhythms the audience did indeed dance away, as Drummer Alan Kumpulainen delivered a precarious pulse to ‘The Leopard’ and ‘Vision Bell’ while Bass player Alex Moore supported each track attentively throughout the show.
Closing the set with an epic rendition of ‘Run With The Wind’, as the band left the stage the crowd clearly was not ready to leave. Answering their call and returning quickly to the stage, Derricourt announced “…we’re not an encore band but we’ll do it because you are Melbourne” – much to the charge of the audience.
The encore opened with ‘Cream’, the only material present from the group’s first record. The track was an effective gesture to long time fans and an effective historical reminder of just how far the band have come. Leaving the stage once again, as cheers of old and new fans echoed through the room it was clearly evident that Dappled Cities is a municipality that is only going to keep growing.
