There is something truly unique in the fanbase that Dope Lemon have cultivated over the years, creating music that seemingly resonates with people of all ages.
For younger fans, the band’s psychedelic approach to music offers a safe harbour in a world saturated with autotune and overproduced pop, while for older listeners, it’s a nostalgic nod to the textured and transportive music of bygone days. Age and reason aside, audience members were equal in their dedication and fandom at the band’s final show on the Australian leg of the Golden Wolf Tour, singing each song as if each were their favourite.
The final stop in Australia before taking their new album on tour internationally, Dope Lemon’s Brisbane performance saw the Fortitude Music Hall transformed into a psychedelic dreamscape, complete with the surreal, swirling animations and costumed, dancing cats which have become synonymous with the band’s production.
Their fifth studio album since bursting onto the scene in 2016 with debut album Honey Bones, Golden Wolf showcases the band’s growth, as they explore and infuse life’s themes and reflections into their work.
Though on the road to promote their latest release, Dope Lemon honoured their beginnings throughout the night, strategically placing fan favourites from across each of their albums throughout the setlist, curating a balanced and exciting compilation for attendees.
Opening with Stonecutters and moving onto How Many Times, it wasn’t until the third song in which the new body of work made its grand entrance into the set list, with John Belushi.
With the crowd now moving, the band took a jump back through time again, taking fans on a sonic journey through their large catalogue of work as they played favourites from each of the albums.
Tracks including, but not limited to, Marinade, Hey You, tour namesake Golden Wolf, Electric Green Lambo, Coyote and Rose Pink Cadillac each making welcome appearances.
The continuous flipping between albums revealed an Easter egg moment between on stage wardrobe and certain older songs, with lead singer Angus Stone seeming to remove his hat for certain albums in a metaphorical nod to the band’s development over the years. Whether symbolically intentional or by complete coincidence, this gesture wouldn’t seem out of character for the band given their level of attention to detail within their stage design and set list curation.
The atmosphere throughout the night was palpable, particularly as fans waited eagerly for highly anticipated tracks to have their turn. With a visibly excited crowd spanning generations, the lighting design also played a critical part in the transportive ability of the show, elevating the experience with multicoloured lights bathing the stage to rhythmic flashing, pending the song being played.
Sonically, the night struck a delicate balance. Always rooted in the band’s signature style, it also carried the warmth and excitement that only folk-rock can.
Ticketholders to Dope’s upcoming shows in New Zealand and Europe should be encouraged to re-familiarise themselves with the band’s work broadly in the leadup to any shows.
With only a handful of tracks from Golden Wolf actually getting their moment in the limelight, this show felt intentionally tailored to the fans who’ve been there from the beginning, dipping into the dreamy archives of work that were responsible for developing the their cult following.
From the whimsical stage design, to carefully curated set lists ensuring time old favourite tracks and their successors are met with equal excitement; Dope Lemon’s performance felt like a celebration of a near decade-long journey in which they have cemented themselves as a defining voice within the psychedelic and folk-rock scene, not only on home turf, but on an international scale.
