The Church’s Solid, Hypnotic Concert Transfixed St. Louis Devotees

by March 26, 2023

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After 2-plus hours of a solid, hypnotic performance at St. Louis’ Delmar Hall Saturday night, The Church were seemingly just getting warmed up. After a brief break, the poised frontman Steve Kilbey unleashed during the two-song encore and the rest of the band fed right into the newly-found energy, conjuring forth fierce extended guitar licks and a noisy blast of hypnotic, passionate, psychedelia on “Reptile” and “You Took.”

For the past 43 years, the Australian band The Church have been leading the way in their beautiful mixture of new wave, psychedelia-indie rock that swirls in highs and lows that crash between dream-pop and post-rock. In the February-released The Hypnogogue, their latest forage is heralded as “breathtakingly perfect” and a “diverse and immersive magnum opus.” For devoted fans, it’s a must-have album. And the concert, from beginning to end, is a must-see for even the most casual of fans (those who left after the1988 chart-topping “Under the Milky Way” missed out).

As much of a lyricist Kilbey is, he’s also a consummate storyteller on stage, peppering the crowd with engaging and detailed snippets throughout the night. He made sure the fans knew that they knew they were in St. Louis, adding details such as “if you found yourself walking down Delmar in the early 90s you might’ve heard this next song blasting from a transistor radio from a shop” before launching into “Destination.”

Prior to “Kings,” Kilbey introduced the band, starting with touring drummer Nicholas Meredith, as he shared that Tim Powles had visa troubles. Guitarist Ashley Naylor added a short “Johnnie B. Good” riff, as a nod to St. Louis upon his introduction.

The rapt crowd (aside from a few chatty people in the middle section) were treated to a spectacular 2.5-hour evening of fan favorites seamlessly intermingled with new material such as “Antarctica” and “C’est la vie” from a powerhouse combination of veteran musicians that show no signs of slowing down. We’d be remiss not to mention the light show that helped create the mood starting with purple hues and a bright front highlight, deep blues with strobes of bright white beams shooting into the crowd to bathing them in yellows during the acoustic “Old Coast Road.”

The Hypnogogue tour continues through April 8. Do your best to catch them if you can.

All photos: https://bit.ly/TheChurch23cz

Setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-church/2023/delmar-hall-st-louis-mo-33bbd405.html

See what’s coming up next at Delmar Hall.