SLOWLY SLOWLY BRING ‘FORGIVING SPREE’ TO HOMETOWN MELBOURNE CROWDS

LIVE REVIEW | SLOWLY SLOWLY w/ Grayscale and Honey Revenge | MARGARET COURT ARENA, MELBOURNE by Kayleigh Nickson

After the release of their 5^th studio album ‘Forgiving Spree‘ on 24^th January 2025, Slowly Slowly hit the road around the world.  The indie rock band completed an 11 date UK and Europe tour last month before almost immediately heading out on their 6 date Australian tour. The hometown show at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne was the final show and it was the perfect end to celebrate the latest album release. The guys were joined by Grayscale and Honey Revenge on the Australian dates. 

Grayscale, a rock band hailing from Philadelphia, delivered a captivating performance with a stage setup that featured backlighting, leaving the band mostly shrouded in darkness. This created a moody atmosphere that perfectly complemented their sound. Given that it was their debut show in Melbourne, the audience was incredibly warm and welcoming.

Honey Revenge are a pop punk band from Los Angeles and they are one of them bands that you want to see for ages but always just miss them. I’m so glad that I finally was in the right place at the right time, they were worth the wait. The energy was warm, with pink lights glowing all around, and even though many in the crowd were unfamiliar with the band, they still had an amazing time. Are you impressed? Yes, I am. 

I have listened to Slowly Slowly for the past few weeks in preparation, yet being there at the show surrounded by the fans, the music was on another level and a vibe that I will never tire of. The whole night had a wholesome atmosphere, you could feel the love between everyone.  

Prior to singing ‘Love Letters‘, lead singer Ben Stewart told the crowd that he hid a love letter in the venue but someone found it before he had a chance to post about it online so they decided they were going to give out a second one later in the show.  

I noticed that they played their songs with a heavier vibe than the recorded versions, and I really enjoyed it. The one that resonated with me the most was ‘Meltdown Masquerade.’ I liked it so much that I wish they had put out a heavier recording so I could listen to it on repeat. The combination of screaming, the black and white visuals, and the smoke machine created a thrilling atmosphere that completely captivated me; I was in my element.

Ben threw the second love letter into the crowd at the end of ‘Long Shot‘ before performing ‘God‘ which felt like a spoken word poem more than a song but it still had me intrigued. I didn’t know this song and I enjoyed being able to read along as they had the words on the screen behind them.   

The encore started with a long instrumental opening which helped build up the crowd’s energy ready for ‘Jellyfish‘ and as this was the song I was looking forward to hearing live the most, it got me hyped up and I was ready to get into a pit (I did not actually go into a pit as my knees definitely would’ve given up on me, but it’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?) 

I went to this show with little expectation; I had been enjoying listening to their music, but I didn’t really know anything about them, yet I left feeling like I was part of the family. It was a privilege to watch the last show of the tour. The Forgiving Spree is over and That’s That. 

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