The maelstrom that is The Drones blew into Hobart for a 2 night stint as the culmination of their 2026 Australian tour. The inaugural Australian Music Prize award winner back in 2005, The Drones are known for their incendiary performances and cinematically tinged, angular fusion of alternative art, noise and punk rock. Aside all of that, they had not toured for over 10 years, and given the uncertainty of when they may do so again, the tension and apprehension amongst the 300+ crowd was hugely palpable.
Led upfront by the omnipresent and talismanic Gareth Liddiard on guitar and vocals, The Drones turned it up to 11 as they rocked Altar Bar to its’ very core. The capacity crowd of mainly long-time fans were left completely in awe as the whirling dervish that is The Drones unleashed their sonic attack. Fiona Kitschin’s bass thundered around the room while the band moved through a set of a dozen of their classics from the breadth of their storied back catalogue.
The music moved from intricate sound-effects and washes of lush keyboards from Steve Hesketh through to tsunami-like waves of pounding guitars from both Liddiard and Dan Luscombe, all the while Christian Strybosch keeping time in the most spectacular (and dare I say most difficult) manner as the room heaved with the intensity of a tropical storm, sometimes in the calm eye, but most often in the fury of the tempest.
Such was the immediacy of the selling-out of this first announced show, that a second show was quickly added, with many of the crowd from this night set to return the following night for a double dose of Drones goodness.
The Drones Setlist:
Private Execution
Taman Shud
The Minotaur
I Am The Supercargo
Sitting On The Edge Of The Bed, Crying
I See Seaweed
Baby2
Locust
Shark Fin Blues
Why Write A Letter That You’ll Never Send
____________
Jezebel
River Of Tears
The Drones Gallery: (click photos to see full size)
The evening threw up one more great surprise, albeit at the beginning of the evening, with the addition of The Mess Hall, the support artist for the tour. Another band who has been on an extended hiatus (around 12 years), The Mess Hall, the Sydney power duo of Cec Condon and Jed Kurzel who, coincidentally also won the Australian Music Prize back in 2007) kicked off the night with a short, sharp set of guitar and drums. Their bluesy alt-rock would have been worth the admission price alone, but obviously the tour provided the double whammy (despite Cec Condon’s misbehaving kick drum sliding around during the early part of the performance, and subsequently being rectified by a random fan breaking out a roll of gaffer tape and taping it to the floor).
There appeared to be quite a few amongst the audience who were unaware of them as they took to the stage, but there is no doubt that they not only appeased their old fans, but gained a whole bunch of new ones by the time they finished.
The Mess Hall Gallery:
Thanks to the artists, Double J and Altar Bar for access to the show.
All images: ©fullonrockphotography/Andrew Fuller
