LIVE REVIEW: CIGARETTES AFTER SEX @ ROD LAVER ARENA 12/03/25

PHOTO GALLERY CREDIT: LAUREN BARREY

A sea of “black from head to toe” was what I expected, and exactly what I got, when I had the pleasure of seeing Cigarettes After Sex at Rod Laver Arena on the 12th of March. The excited atmosphere was almost unfitting in comparison to the calm, lo-fi music to come, yet, as the lights went down and the delicate, minor-keyed orchestral introduction began, the anticipation of the crowd readily turned into a united sense of awe. The minor key of the introduction melted into major as bassist Randy Miller entered to the right of the stage.

He was shortly followed by drummer Jacob Tomsky, positioning himself slouched over the drum kit on the opposite side of the stage. In between the two musicians was an empty platform, collecting waves of smoke. The audience waited eagerly until Greg Gonzalez, lead singer and guitarist, slowly appeared through the haze on the stage, going straight into ‘X’s’.

This number brought Cigarettes After Sex’s atmospheric slowcore sound, and as the audience became gradually more gripped by the piece, the sea of phones recording the show started to disappear. The relaxed ambience of the music closely mirrored Gonzalez’s words “as soft as cinnamon”, and it was at this point that I knew I would very much enjoy this concert. The band, without pause, then began the song ‘You’re All I Want’, with the recognisable guitar line spiking excitement among the stadium. The black and white lighting on stage mixed with the opening lyrics “you would use your songs to say the words you couldn’t say” aligned with a kind of film-noir silent movie feeling, adjacent to the mysterious, vintage nature of the band. The dreamlike vibe of the song built throughout, and, as the song came to a close, Gonzalez approached the platform at the front of the stage to say the first words of the concert, “Thank you all so much.”

The melancholic beginning of the song ‘Dark Vacay’ brought about sentimental emotions in the audience, as the arena began to light up with phone torches, creating a strong resonance between each fan present and the words “feel the world around you”. Phone lights remained on for the rest of the song, creating a strong sense of unity amongst the crowd until Gonzalez sung the words “crash and fall”, and the stage lights faded. In contrast to the prominent bright lights in ‘dark vacay’, the duration of the next song, ‘pistol’, was spent in low lighting. The main screen displayed a visual of what seemed to be the moon in a cloudy night sky, adding to the slightly upbeat late-night vibe of the song, carried by the prominent drum line.

This atmosphere seemed to reflect the themes of a bittersweet breakup prominent in ‘Pistol’, creating a vivid image of late-night contemplation, wondering what might have gone wrong in a past relationship and what may have been lost. The excitement of the audience was sparked soon after the song ended, as the intro to one of CAS’s hit songs, ‘Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby’, played. The iconic bassline carried a feeling of calmness throughout the piece, levelling out this sense of enthusiasm of the crowd. The dreamlike ambience brought about an undeniable sense of warmth and security, mirroring the title lyric, as if the music was giving the crowd a warm hug. This feeling of safety remained prominent over the next two songs, ‘Touch’ and ‘Falling in Love’, as Gonzalez established a connection with the audience, approaching the front of the stage and making eye contact with swooning fans.

This connection with the audience was strengthened by the returning phone lights and main screen visuals of Gonzalez’s back, looking out into the crowd. At the conclusion of the song ‘falling in love’, Gonzalez proclaimed that it was “nice to be back in Melbourne”.

The song ‘Tejano Blue’ was next, and, though you may expect the racy lyrics to be the attention grabber of the piece, what struck me the most was the overwhelming sense of unity between the song and the audience, as if you yourself were almost inside of it. Visuals of the sun surrounded by clouds blended into the haze on the stage, and bright lights created the feeling of staring directly into the real scene itself. These bright lights converged into three separate spotlights, focusing on each band member as the next song, ‘Sesame Syrup’, begun. Gonzalez’s facial expressions were really what sold this song to me. In between moments of moving towards the crowd, looming over them, you could really tell that he felt the lyrics.

The next song, ‘John Wane’, definitely brought fans together. Phones turned into stars, and the crowds turned into a choir, singing lines “He’s got so much in his heart” and “Baby, he’s got to be crazy” in unison. A waterfall visual switched on, and smoke on the stage looked like mist from the stream as the song ‘Cry’ turned on next. The lights were bright as the crowd joined Gonzalez in singing as he clung on to the mic to let go of iconic lyrics, such as “I can’t help the way I feel” and “I’ll only make you cry”.

The next three songs, ‘Sweet’, ‘Sunsetz’, and ‘Heavenly’, were clearly favourites for couples, and, as many grabbed onto each other, you could definitely feel the love in the room. The lights came off the stage and towards the audience for ‘Sweet’, giving a clear view of the awe-filled expressions on each audience member’s face. At the end of the song, Gonzalez approached the front of the stage to gift his guitar pick to a lucky girl in the crowd. ‘Sunsetz’ felt especially fitting given the spectacular sunset in the Melbourne sky prior to the concert. The sleepy feeling of the song was contrasted by the volume of the audience as they sang along, and, towards the end of the song, Gonzalez gave away another guitar pick, showing his appreciation for the crowd.

The audience maintained enthusiasm throughout the song ‘K’, assisted along by the classic reverbed guitar line. However, for me, the next song, ‘Dreaming of You’, was the highlight of the show. With the spotlight to Gonzalez’s back, I couldn’t help but notice the captivating drum line, soon overpowered by a surprising guitar solo, which felt relatively hardcore for such a calm band. This, paired with visuals of a thunderstorm and spotlights sailing across the audience, was quite a thing to experience.

At the conclusion of ‘Dreaming of You’, Gonzalez proclaimed, “We love you all so much,” leading into their ‘final’ song, ‘Apocalypse’. This number was accompanied by an exceedingly warm vibe, and a feeling ofcomfort among fans was evident. Later on in the song, after the lyric “I just can’t say goodbye”, a disco ball made an appearance, shooting light into all corners of the arena, and as the song came to a conclusion, the band members each bowed and walked away. The lights, though, didn’t go up, and as expected, the band members each came back onto stage to play one more song, ‘Opera House’. The snowy visuals, romantic lyrics, and slow tempo created such a beautiful mood.

At the end of the song, band members gave away picks and drumsticks as Gonzalez expressed to the audience, “We love you all so much; you’ve been the sweetest,” and the words “Stay with me; I don’t want you to leave” felt very real to me all of a sudden.