Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane played the 02 institute in Birmingham on the 13^{th of} February 2023, their ‘last show of the UK’ according to vocalist Caleb Harper. A sold-out show meant that the 02 institute was fully packed, brimming with fans waiting to enjoy the feel-good indie anthems.

The supporting act, indie duo Dolores Forever, captured the crowds attention immediately. Finishing up their set with 2021 single ‘A Party in My Mind,’ their performance was enthralling and set the tone well for Spacey Jane’s vibrant stage presence. The guitarist of the duo, Julia Fabrin, ended their set with an inspirational message, “If you are thinking of starting a band with your friend, do it!”

…their performance was enthralling and set the tone well for Spacey Jane’s vibrant stage presence

The preshow playlist continued the high energy, playing well known oldies such as David Bowie’s ‘Golden years,’ Blue Swede’s ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ and Abbas ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme.’ The Bee Gees ‘Staying Alive’ was the last song of the playlist and ended prematurely as Spacey Jane overtook the stage with their infectious energy.

Spacey Jane opened their set with ‘Lunchtime’ an upbeat song from their newest 2022 album Here Comes Everybody, and the crowd seemed to approve, jumping along in rhythm. The joyous energy of the crowd was maintained for their follow up song ‘Skin,’ and the jumping evolved into a rhythmic clap along to the much slower beat of ‘Skin’. The crowds energy during the bridge was especially lively, but it was incomparable to the energy onstage.

In particular, guitarist Ashton Hardman Le-Cornu had a great connection with the audience and admirable guitar showmanship, as he headbanged and scissor-kicked through the set. The energy created in the venue due to this song, coupled with the outstanding onstage presence of Spacey Jane, made this arguably the best performance of the set; It finished with a raging reaction from the crowd. After following ‘Skin’ with a similar upbeat song, ‘Sitting Up,’ vocalist and guitarist Caleb Harper switched up his electric guitar for an acoustic as they opted for a slightly slower and mellow song, ‘Yet’.

…guitarist Ashton Hardman Le-Cornu had a great connection with the audience and admirable guitar showmanship

‘This is unreal’, drummer Kieran Lama remarked as they continued blessing the crowd with their brilliant energy and feel-good songs. The high energy performance was maintained through the rest of the set, with the songs hopping between their 2018, 2020, 2017 and 2022 albums. When they ended with their 2021 single ‘Lots of Nothing,’ the crowd still wanted more, and the encore chants quickly spread their way throughout the high-spirited crowd.

It was no surprise that Spacey Jane opted to play ‘Booster Seat’ during the encore, a tune that was at #8 in the 2020 ARIA charts. It was evident that this song was iconic amongst the crowd too, and is a personal favourite of mine. From enjoying ‘booster seat’ on repeat with my best friends in second year, to listening to it played live in our last term of third year, the feeling really was euphoric; it seemed that the rest of the crowd felt the same as they sang along to every last word.

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