Sneaky Sound System Live @ The GH Hotel, Melbourne 26th July

“I’m so glad you came tonight Adem!”
How on earth do you react when your favourite Aussie pop star thanks you for coming to their show? In an eight year obsession that is fast approaching ten, Sneaky Sound System’s Miss Connie has not only proven to be the most genuine, honest, loving and caring pop star I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting to know, she also fronts the greatest Australian club/pop group this current generation are likely to ever see.
It’s hard to imagine the Australian music scene without Sneaky Sound System. Having formed in 2001, it wasn’t until 2006 when the group took on new vocalist Connie Mitchell to call their own. Aussie music advocates should remember Connie’s stint as the lead vocalist in rock outfit Primary through the 90’s and 2000’s, most notably for their massive single “Vicious”. And if you ever thought you’d heard her voice on Machine Gun Felatio material, then you were right, a band whom she adopted the alias ‘Feyonce’ for a rather brief moment in time.
The discovery of Connie, as the band would tell me the last time we sat down for an interview, happened in a Sydney park. Black Angus and then-member MC Double D were walking through when they – quite literally – bumped into Connie as she sat under a tree, strumming a guitar. The rest, as they say, is Iconic Pop Music History.
In the years since they unleashed their first, massive single with Connie, “I Love It”, Sneaky have released absolute career pinnacles with albums “2” and their most recent, “From Here To Anywhere”, which spawned what could very well be the greatest Australian single this side of the century, “Big”.
On Saturday night, after a mammoth European and US tour, Sneaky Sound System returned to Melbourne to perform to a sold-out crowd at St Kilda’s Greyhound Hotel. The show was electric, moreso when taking Angus’ comment to me about their live shows into consideration; Connie has no idea what songs he’s going to play or what order things will be in; it is very much a spirit of the moment, club-infused pop show that makes most veterans (like, for example, Kylie Minogue) look like amateurs.
Over a hustling, 70 minute set, Sneaky Sound System proved exactly why they are our greatest beacon of hope, particularly in a music climate where local television show contestants earn Number 1 singles performing other peoples songs. There is something magnetic; magical even, about Miss Connie, and when she walks onto a stage you know you’re in for a night of a lifetime.
Performing a variety of their biggest hits (mostly in remix form), Sneaky pleased the crowd with bangers “I Love It”, “UFO”, “Friends”, “Pictures”, “We Love” (times two!) and, of course, “Big”, even treating us to bonza album tracks like “I Just Don’t Wanna Be Loved” and “I Need You So”. Even their legendary collaboration with Trance King Tiesto got some stagetime, much to the sheer delight of the Sneaky die-hards up the front.
I was lucky enough to chat with both Connie and Angus after the show, where they both assured me new music was coming (we’re predicting end of Q3/start of Q4, with hints of an album in the new year), that it had a distinctly Sneaky-vibe but was very much 90’s house inspired. Delightful news, particularly as we near the end of EDM’s overstayed welcome.
After seeing the night out with the duo, we all decided to call it an evening and, in turn, were shown the door to the backstage exit. My incredible – albeit slightly surreal – night was just about to turn into a bonafide goldmine as I linked arms with my favourite Aussie pop star as we walked down the stairs, kiki’ing and laughing together the whole way outside of the club.
It’s moments like this that certainly solidify just how much I love these two. Having them soundtrack large portions of my life helps as well; there is a Sneaky Sound System track for every occasion and emotion, and in the new year there’ll be even more. I wouldn’t exactly say I’m more excited about new Sneaky material than I am about getting new Madonna material, but I’m not not saying it either…
“I’m so glad you came tonight Adem!”
No Miss Connie. I’m so glad that you came tonight.
Written by Adem Ali. For more music news and reviews follow @AdemWithAnE on Twitter!