Adelaide's Indiago Threaten to Unhinge Beijing This Weekend With Their Stadium Rock Built for Bars
Between the driving rhythm of the guitar and bass, the hard-hitting drums, and the commanding soulful lead vocals that hit you like a freight train, one listen to Indiago and you’ll know whether or not they’re for you. Pure, unadulterated, and sincere rock and roll that pays tribute to the rollicking alternative rock of King of Leon, Foo Fighters, and fellow Aussie outfit Gang of Youths all the while driving full steam ahead, the four-piece band from the Adelaide Hills of South Australia are first and foremost about having a grand ol’ time. Since the release of their self-titled 2013 EP, the band has been building a fanbase not only in their home base of Adelaide but across Australia, performing alongside the likes of Timberwolf, Fuel, and Shannon Noil.
With plenty of gusto and show-stopping performances, the band jumped at the chance to perform in China, and with the help of local promoters Borderless, will be playing three shows in Beijing this week at Caravan (Friday, Aug 17), Temple (Saturday, Aug 18), and Soi Baochao (Wednesday, Aug 23). I shot the band, who are in the midst of their trek across China, a few questions about the scene in South Australia, performing live, and outrageous house parties.
While cities like Melbourne and Sydney get plenty of ink written on their music scenes, Adelaide and South Australia for the most part are still unknown to most people around the world. How would you describe the vibe that Adelaide gives off as compared to Melbourne, Sydney, and even Brisbane?
Adelaide is a very unique place. It's got all of the vibes, scenes, and talent of the bigger cities, with the charm and sense of community of a small town. We're pretty proud of our city, and it definitely shows through our music.
Continuing on that note, what was the music scene like growing up? What music did you all attach to in your early adult lives? Would you say the scene there has seen substantial growth since starting your musical careers?
We all grew up 30 minutes out of Adelaide in a mountain region called the Adelaide Hills. There was never much of a music scene in that region, so we were forced to create our own, or travel to the city to play. As we became more popular, we used it to help create more of a scene in our hometown, and now we play really big shows there!
We all have very different tastes in music, but bands like Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters have always remained a big part of our lives growing up. Adelaide and South Australia's music scene has grown substantially in the past few years, and it is now one of the best in the country. There are a lot of Adelaide bands making incredible music, and receiving the recognition for it.
You’re known for your bombastic live shows. Any trade secrets as to how to rile up a crowd that’s not as receptive as they should/could be? What have been some of the more memorable live shows recently?
Performance to us is just as important as the music. We have worked very hard on building an exciting live show because we want people to see how much we love what we do. As soon as people see us having a party on stage, all they want to do is join us! It's simple, people don't want to watch a boring band! No matter how good their music is.
A few months before coming to China, we played with one of Australia's biggest musical icons, Shannon Noll. He's crazy, so it was a lot of fun!
You guys landed in China at the beginning of month – with shows in Guiyang, Shanghai, and Suzhou. Will this be your first time performing outside of Australia? How has the experience been so far? What was the biggest surprise so far?
Yeah, this is our first tour outside of Australia, and it's been amazing! The Chinese people have been so welcoming, and have gone crazy at every one of our shows. We had no idea what to expect coming here, but the rock scene is unbelievable!
In your music video for "Loose Change" (pictured above) – we follow the band as they travel (with an ever-growing horde of partiers) via bikes. What’s the house party culture like in Adelaide? Do you imagine you’d like to bar hop across Beijing’s music scene via Mobikes (I wholly endorse this idea)?
That was one of the craziest days of our lives ... We filmed that in our home region and everyone in it was a good friend of ours. There ended up being over 45 people on bicycles riding through the neighborhood! House parties are HUGE in Adelaide, especially in the Hills.
We would absolutely love to do something like that over here in China! One-hundred percent!
What should Beijing audiences expect this weekend?
This weekend is going to be huge! We're coming towards the end of our tour here, so we don't want to leave anything behind. We will be going crazy, and we want our crowd to dance all night!
Catch Indiago play at Caravan on Aug 17, Temple on Aug 18, and Soi Baochao on Aug 23.
Photos courtesy of Indiago
