Live Review: THE RUBENS + LITTLE MAY “LO LA RU” @ The Tivoli

After reviewing their new album LO LA RU I was excited to see what The Rubens had in store for the night, and which of their new songs would become the next crowd pleasers. But before I could find out Sydney two piece Little May graced the stage. For only two members this girl band sure knew how to move a crowd. They also proved that they too had many loyal fans in the audience as the crowd sang along to some of their favourites ‘Boardwalks,’ ‘Home’ and my personal favourite ‘Dust.’ Once they had finished their set I ran to the bathroom to find a line long enough to test my bladder. After chatting to a few girls in the line it seemed we were all as excited as each other as we hypothesised the setlist. After a satisfying pee and another trip to the bar I made my way back to the crowd to wait for the main act of the night.
They came out and the screams were overwhelming. They immediately opened with my personal favourite from their new album  ‘Go On’, which was a perfect choice, getting the crowd moving and setting the tone for the night. After this they addressed the crowd, confirming this was going to be a very active and vocal crowd. One highlight of the night was when they played ‘Casper’ and the whole crowd attempted to hum along to the vocally challenging chorus, but what more could you expect from a drunkenly ambitious Brisbane audience? After this tune they threw it back to some of their older songs such as ‘Hold Me Back’ from their Hoops album. This one harboured some gnarly guitar work ; key change and everything.
This was definitely one of the more committed crowds I’d been in, it seemed most people knew every single song they played and at least the words to every chorus, if not the whole song (me being one of those people). Even as they moved towards the middle of their setlist, where artists play some of their older stuff, fans still seemed to be equally invested.
The band as a whole was balanced perfectly, proving the longevity in their chemistry as a band. They seemed to gel together well and bounce off each-others energy, as well as the crowds. Special props goes to front man Sam Margin, who is able to project his personality through his performance onstage, not only as a lead singer but a leader as he interacts with the crowd and the rest of the band. He has the same individuality which makes him stand out as one of the better leads I’ve seen perform live. He fearlessly owns the stage and crowds LOVE it.
Another stand out song of the night came from their self-titled album ‘The Rubens’and was called ‘My Gun.’ Definitely a fan favourite of the night and a song which has only become more popular since its release in 2012. Next they played another one of my personal favourites from the LO LA RU album ‘God Forgot’ which is one of their peppier and fun songs and for sure got me buzzing again. This song is so much unlike what is being played on the radio these days and has a sense of theatre to it, if you haven’t heard it before, do yourself a favour and go listen to it.
They then played yet another one of my favourites (I’m sorry, I just REALLY enjoyed their new album), ‘Freakout’ this one is a little more mellow and a slow dance song, but it still had its own deserved place on the setlist. They then went on to congratulate the openers and invite RIVAH back on stage to perform ‘Never Ever’ with Sam in a beautiful and heartbreaking duet. After this they continued to wrap up the show playing their best and brightest ‘Hoops’ which won triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2015. This was another stand out crowd pleaser, to say the least. After this they ran off stage to tease an encore.
After making the crowd scream “encore” for a good 5 minutes they came back on stage to finish what they started. They played ‘Lay It down,’ another one from their self-titled 2012 album, and a slower song (which I thought was an odd choice for an encore). However, it did show off Sam’s flawless vocals. They finished up the show with their single from LO LA RU ‘Million Man,’ people went up on shoulders and screamed out all the words to their final song. As a little Easter egg to the fans, they even played ‘King Kunta’ by Kendrick Lamar, after leaving the stage, the song which was predicted to win first place but famously came in second in the 2015 hottest 100.
Overall this show was pretty wonderful. Their set list was one which Rubens fans will froth at the mouth over. They’re great performers with great energy, and I will definitely be seeing them next time around. If you haven’t already been graced by their performance skills catch them as they finish their LO LA RU tour.