Here we go, again. UK Producer and DJ Fred again.. has had Aussies in a chokehold with his current run of surprise concerts, which all began with a record-breaking show at the Sydney Opera House on February 27. He’s not loosening his grip either – on day two of his sell-out three-night run at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, Fred announced one more big surprise show. He will be taking over The Domain on Saturday, March 16, and he’s bringing some friends. He’ll be joined by his close friend JOY (ANONYMOUS), plus local superstars Sam Alfred and Dameeeela.
Fred posted the following message to his Instagram story on Wednesday, March 13: "Okayyyy Sydney. We're going to do a big fat sorta end of shows week party at the main on Saturday. Imma be DJing wit some friends."
As with the Opera House show, tickets dropped for sale without any warning at 2pm this afternoon. We’re getting reports that loads of people are stuck in the Ticketek waiting room page (at time of publication). While the Domain can handle a capacity of 50,000 people, there are reports that more than 170,000 people were in line for tickets for Fred’s first surprise show of this run. So, good luck to you if you’re just seeing this now!
Time Out’s Arts & Culture Editor Alannah Le Cross (that’s me!) was at Fred’s first arena show at Qudos, and I can confirm that this lad really does have a knack for turning a Tuesday night into a great big party. The vibes at a Fred again.. concert are nothing short of electric, and that’s not just because he’s playing dance music. This guy is harnessing the energy of ’90s rave culture and giving it a modern twist.
His songs take samples from spoken or sung words, and throw that thing down, flip it and reverse it. Amongst the dirty bass lines, there are melodic piano moments and sing-alongs. At one point, Fred had the audience singing along to the lines “You took a piece of me / I hope you find the peace you need” – with this call and response emerging again throughout the set. Something about repeating that affirmation cut to the core of the communal concert experience, it was almost religious.
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I’m usually more drawn to live performances that are more about theatrics and costumes – not guys in T-shirts and jeans bobbing along at booths – but the joyful energy cultivated, combined with random surprises, a truly epic lighting rig and the show’s video elements really elevated the experience. There’s an awe-inspiring element to events of this scale, and the music does slap – though as noted by my mate, there is something that gets lost in a space that big when it comes to this genre. EDM is perhaps best enjoyed when you can feel it throbbing through the walls and into your skull – which adds cred to our suspicion that Fred’s surprise appearance at Club 77 was probably one of the best shows to catch during this Aussie sprint. Regardless, you can’t help but walk out of a Fred again.. show with a stupid smile on your face.
Sure, the marketing mastery of springing surprise shows on people before they can even consider if they can really afford to spend the money, time and energy is kinda wild. But if you can get your hands on tickets, make it happen!