LIVE REVIEW: BOO SEEKA @ THE ESPY 04/03/2021
Newcastle duo Boo Seeka performed a handful of shows at the Esplanade Hotel in Saint Kilda at the beginning of March, their first tour in Melbourne in over a year. Let me tell you, the energy in that band room was something else. The duo was incredibly fortunate to be able to perform to a standing crowd, a luxury that had been on pause for so many months. The show I attended was their second performance for the night, but despite that they still brought so much enthusiasm. The gig was incredibly intimate, yet energetic at the same time.
Opening the night was NYNE, a hip hop/pop artist from Melbourne, who’s performed with the likes of Allday on his track ‘Sides’ and Paces on ‘Savage.’ Her set was upbeat and created a buzz within the crowd as she set the stage for Boo Seeka. NYNE played songs from her recently released EP, ‘Season One’ and closed the set with Allday’s ‘Sides,’ which saw the crowd singing out the chorus with her.
Boo Seeka opened the set with ‘Oh My’, a 2016 release that starts slow and is accompanied by dreamy vocals that builds up as the song progresses. Followed up by Deception Bay, another early release from the duo. Both songs encapsulate the smooth sounds and familiar percussions that are a signature to the band. With Ben ‘Boo’ Gumbelton on vocals and guitar, and Michael May on percussion and the rest, it creates a melodic harmony.
The set started off with stripped-back versions of their songs, with the energy being matched by the crowd. Favourites such as ‘Kingdom Leader’ and ‘Days Get Better’ were sung along in conjunction with Boo’s voice. During ‘Turn Up Your Light’ the stage lights were turned out and the venue was illuminated purely by phone lights, as requested by Boo, which created an intimate moment, reminiscent of pre-Covid times.
The tempo of the set progressed into the sounds of electronic bass and smooth beats that the duo is known so well for. ‘Take a Look’ was a stand out, and also a crowd favourite, a song which creates the perfect balance of dreamy vocals and beats which gets you dancing. During ‘Does This Last’ the boys requested and encouraged the crowed to get up on each other’s shoulders – again, something which had seemed out of touch for so long, but created such a unique moment.
The set as closed with the duo’s latest and most popular release, ‘Never Enough,’ incredibly high energy and balanced with smooth percussions from Michael and intertwined with Boo’s vocals. The whole gig felt like somewhat of a vivid dream inside the band room at the Espy, it was like a separate world where all that existed was the pulsating sounds from duo Boo Seeka and the energy from the crowd.