LIVE REVIEW: THE RUBENS @ THE FORUM 05/05/2022
Photo: Travis Suttie
The Forum lights flickered in the Thursday evening air as the crowd took shelter from the cold. Walking into the venue, there is something magical in the abyss of the blue roof that doesn’t diminish, no matter how many times you see it. The Forum feels like a moment frozen in time and is probably why it remains the favourite venue to host Melbourne’s live music of all genres. A place to escape reality and enjoy the music.
Photo: Travis Suttie
The first band, Royel Otis took the stage and captured the room. The Sydney based duo described their sound as similar to Tame Impala or Passion Pit, which was bang on. They were a bright and fun reception which had the crowd, made up of mostly 30 somethings dropping head nods in unison. Plenty of women were spotted in the crowd, with whispers of ‘a night away from the kids’ a reminder that the headliner of the night has been around for over 10 years and have maintained their popularity.
The very talented, Ashwarya shifted gears as she skipped onto stage with her bright red curly hair, oversized hoodie and black schoolgirl pleated skirt. A similar look to Mallrat but with a stronger, more soulful voice behind her. Her lyrics called ‘closer, why don’t you come a little closer’ with the main section filling up with curious punters.
She projected throughout the room with a beautiful tone but her stage presence and energy did not resonate as she stood alone. Singing to backing tracks was more evident than usual as she was sandwiched between two live bands. In future shows I think she would get the electricity and X-factor that comes from bouncing ofF others energy on stage. Her final song ‘Crazy’ was the best of the set with people rocking their arms to the beat, her confidence blossomed with this response as she dropped down into the crowd to sing the second chorus.
Photo: Travis Suttie
A long, almost hour wait for the headliner, The Rubens was forgiven as they came onto stage to a warm applause. The five piece filled the room quickly with many crowding into the walkways to catch a glimpse at the New South Wales rockers. Plenty were spotted in band merch from their tours over the years and cheered for the effort evident in the show curated before them. Lights, smoke and synth opened the show with an acoustic guitar and vocals was a simple pleasure to listen to. Lead Singer, Sam thanked fans for their patience, with the show being rescheduled several times due to covid but gleefully boasted “we’re back!”.
The thick kick of ‘God Forgot’ surged energy into the crowd, before settling into ‘The Day You Went Away’, this ebb and flow continued throughout the set which paralleled the individual songs. A testament to the experience in engaging a crowd, particularly impressive was their transition between songs which was seamless. The Rubens are one of the bands you may think you don’t know well, but then end up singing to almost every lyric. A strong finish to the night was dismissed by the crowd as they demanded an encore, which was soon delivered with Triple J Hottest 100 winning track, ‘Hoops’. This was the one we had all been waiting for, girls clamoured onto their friends shoulders to get closer to the action before finishing with their own ‘Masterpiece’.
Photo: Travis Suttie
