Amidst the journey towards Festival Hall to see the Bloom Tour by Sydney electronic trio RÜFÜS, one thing came to mind. An average Thursday night usually reserved for quiet study, and a desire for the weekend to arrive, leaving all responsibilities till Sunday, will turn into an unforgettable night out. A packed Festival Hall filled with alcohol, an electrifying atmosphere and a crowd slowly turning into a frenzy, it was clear to those who saw RÜFÜS live that they were about to be transported to another world overshadowed by heavy synth, fluid vocals and electrifying drum beats.
Opening with ‘Brighter’, the trio delved right into their set, wasting no time in adding more energy to the already hyped up crowd. The subtlety of ‘Brighter’ became the perfect opening, slowly seducing listeners ears to undertake a journey of sound and without a care for responsibility but rather be a part of a cohesive crowd placed in a trance under the dazzling lights and captivating dance rhythm interweaved within their next song, ‘Tell Me’. There is no higher energy than to be a part of a crowd, much less to be directly in the middle. Drowned by the sea of weird dance moves, fist being thrown in the air, and people on each other’s shoulders, it was clear that the diversity of the crowd; old, young, male, female and whatever else one can think of, was unimportant. The only thing unifying their diversity was a desire to be a part of a hysteric crowd listening to and feeling the brilliance of RÜFÜS’s set.
As the night progressed, rather than the energy slowly descend, it did the exact opposite. Fans slowly climbed higher and higher till each individual reached their own peak, doused by dense synth undercurrents, galvanizing drum beats and effervescent ambience manifested within Tyrone Lindqvist’s vocals. Dance ecstasy was a drug, and RÜFÜS certainly distributed it. By this point, ‘Innerbloom’ begins and fans certainly craved the ascension of the beat as the song progresses, and once the song descends into the break down, individuals lose themselves in a moment of euphoria that transcends listeners to the heart of European dance club bliss. The 7-minute journey felt like an eternity, losing everyone through the lights, and the world RÜFÜS reveals through the harmonic convergence between synth, lyrics and vocals.
As ‘Innerbloom’ drew to a close with its final notes, the crowd and those around the seating areas are left in awe and wonder what can possibly follow from it. The answer derives from the simple concert equation; build up the set with songs some fans may or may not know, and then end with the songs that everyone loves and adores. And RÜFÜS certainly followed this equation. Following the high energy created from the world of ‘Innerbloom’, ‘Like an Animal’ began and by this point the crowd followed the current of energy gravitating towards the climax of the night. Their second last song became a perfect symbolism for their concert as a whole, ‘Take Me’. The indie disco echo injected within ‘Take Me’ was nothing short of spectacular live. Laced with its brilliant simplicity in regards to the body of the sound, mixed with its picturesque narrative through its lyrics, RÜFÜS certainly did not descend once. And finally, as the final song ‘You Were Right’ began, it felt as though this journey was over so quickly and everything in between was a flash, euphoria, and ecstasy.
Rating: ★★★★
The boys still have a few shows up their sleeve, and if you haven’t seen them before, then hopefully this review will get you along to one of their shows.
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