Live Review: The Delta Riggs w/ Gideon Benson & The Vanns @ Metro Theatre

After setting off on their huge ‘Active Galactic’ national album tour back in September, The Delta Riggs finally stopped by Sydney over the weekend and, unsurprisingly, absolutely tore the Metro Theatre apart! Even though this was the fourteenth show they’ve played over the span of a month, the amount of energy the band, especially frontman Elliot Hammond, showed was through the roof.

Kicking off the night was Wollongong rockers The Vanns. Although it took a couple of songs for the room to start filling up, they smashed their set. Their sound is so infectious and their unique take on indie-rock made the whole venue light up. The amount of people singing lyrics to each one of their songs was pretty amazing (considering the fact they’re not even from Sydney!), and it was obvious how much love there was for them.

Next up was Gideon Bensen, former guitarist of Sydney rock heroes The Preatures. Bringing his dark and slightly ominous sound to the stage, Bensen produced a very Bowie-esque sound which he pulled off effortlessly. His vocals were strong, powerful, and completely dominated the room. Smashing through the likes of Talk Talk, All New Low, and Cold Cold Heart, Bensen delivered a faultless and stunning set, acting as the perfect warm up act for The Delta Riggs.

“The crowd followed his lead and the Metro Theatre was a sea of bopping bodies, with even a few circle pits opening up from time to time…which was a little surprising considering the nature of their mild psych-rock sound.”

By the time The Delta Riggs hit the stage the room was pretty packed to the brim. From the moment they hit the stage the energy they delivered was on another level. There’s just something about the quartet that draws you in, which is especially amplified in a live setting. Kicking the set off with tracks Surgery Of Love, The Record’s Flawed, and June Gloom, they continued to throw out a sweet mix of old and new tunes.

Not once did frontman Elliot Hammond stand still, constantly jumping and bouncing from one side of the stage to the other, keeping the vibe of the set upbeat and full of fun. One of the most impressive feats of the night was the fact no matter how much Hammond thrashed around the stage, the pair of sunglasses he was wearing never once fell off his head. The crowd followed his lead and the Metro Theatre was a sea of bopping bodies, with even a few circle pits opening up from time to time…which was a little surprising considering the nature of their mild psych-rock sound.

They continued with Never Seen This Before, It’s Over, and what seemed to be a crowd favourite and definite night highlight Supersonic Casualties, which absolutely went through the roof. Throwing in a couple more new tracks like Slingin’ On A Saturday Night and Baddest Motherf*cker In The Beehive towards the end of the set, they all received just as much love as their more well-known songs.

The Delta Riggs are definitely a band you need to see live. They manage to completely hype up the atmosphere of a room and exude such an infectious stage presence that you’re pretty much guaranteed to fall in love with them once you’ve seen them play!