CONFIDENCE MAN IN BRIXTON: FUN, OUTRAGEOUS AND COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!

LIVE REVIEW | CONFIDENCE MAN | LONDON BRIXTON ACADEMY 06/12/2024 by Tom Jenkinson

Australian pop quartet Confidence Man completed the final two dates of their UK tour with two sold-out shows at Brixton’s O2 Academy. A little more than a stone’s throw from their Dalston home, this is just about as close to a hometown show you will get, having ingratiated themselves with UK audiences since moving to the UK 2 years ago.

The band have come on leaps and bounds since 2022, when they supported Noel Gallagher on selected UK dates. In the band’s eyes, the shows were disastrous, saying “We finished this song and there were 5,000 angry geezers standing there just… dead silence”. By contrast, the two sold-out shows mean the band will be playing to nearly 10,000 fans in 24 hours. Not bad considering the mix of ages in the crowd suggests that the band may have in fact won over some of those angry geezers in the interim.
There is tension in the crowd before the gig begins, and there seems to be a delay in stage times this evening. However, support act Fcukers do a good job setting the mood for the evening and despite their relatively new formation (their debut EP only being released in September) they are cool, confident, and the three-piece commands the stage well. Having followed ConMan now for a few years, the staging at the O2 Academy feels sophisticated, like the band have stepped up a level since their debut. An inflatable wall of spikes foregrounds a psychedelic screen displaying “Confidence Man loading…”.

The screen repeatedly flashes psychedelic imagery throughout the gig with pigeons, lasers, and clocks. It is somewhat difficult to experience the set without feeling like you are in a chemically enhanced state. Before coming on, the stage is occupied by two look-a-like dolls sitting at a desk watching their audience. They are inanimate but you get the feeling that as the anticipation builds there is a cog somewhere inside being wound before these will spring to life. Confidence Man burst onto the stage at 9.20 pm, launching into “Now U Do”, “Does It Make You Feel Good” and “All My People”. The three-song succession gives the audience barely a chance to catch their breath.

These classics are followed by “CONTROL” and “I CAN’T LOSE YOU” from their current release “3 AM (La La La)” diving even deeper into their euro club sound which they have cultivated since their debut album “Tilt”. The second half of the band’s set consists mainly of tracks from 3 AM (La La La), including an appearance from London-based Reggae singer Sweetie Irie, who collaborated with the band on “REAL MOVE TOUCH”. The track is a pleasing crossover, and the more relaxed vocal is a welcome pause in the set. Confidence Man close with fan-favourite “Holiday”, a track which, given the brutally dark and cold UK winter raging outside the venue, is the embodiment of why the band have found success and a home here: their care-free attitude and euphoric music are a tonic for so many, young and old. The question is whether the UK is going to be enough for them when the world awaits them.

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Tom Jenkinson

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