Grinspoon - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 9th July @ The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
Grinspoon
The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
July 9th, 2017
Supports: Hockey Dad and Good Boy
Grinners were certainly winners last night as the awesome foursome performed the last show of their first stint on the Guide to Better Living 20th Anniversary Tour at Brisbane's Tivoli and goddamn what a show they put on for fans of young old and older. More on that soon but let's take you back to the start.
The line to get in was longer than the one at Centrelink on a Monday morning (except more classier), full of keen and eager fans ready to experience what the est of the east coast has already laid their eyes and ears on. Good Boy opened the night and caught the attention of the ever growing venue attendees as they made their way in the doors and straight to the bar.
Infamous support Hockey Dad were a fantastic addition to the roster and opened my eyes to yet another two member band featuring guitarist and drummer. They blended their surf rock style with a fun energetic set that attempted to get the crowd moving or in this case, amped up for the main event. These lads are definitely going places so jump on the hype train now.
As the lights dimmed towards 10pm the Kill Bill theme song 'Battle Without Honor Or Humanity' by Tomoyasu Hotei played out and Lismore's greatest exports entered the stage and jumped straight into song #1 'Pressure Tested 1984' to kickstart their Guide to Better Living in full section of the gig for the Sold Out mass which by this point had pushed their way into every open crevasse they could find. Guitarist Pat Davern seamlessly played along like he's been doing this for well over 20 years (ha!) without mistake which was mesmerising to witness again after so long (last time for me was Big Day Out 2013 in Melbourne). It was just like listening to the album in full at home, except now you had Phil Jamieson jumping around in front of you, Joe Hansen slappin the bass like a champ and Kristian Hopes banging the drums like there was no tomorrow and for the first time in a very long time, the boys were in sync and on point.
Fan favourites from the performance included (as expected) 'DC X 3', 'Pedestrian' and 'Scalped' as Phil flamboyantly strutted his stuff across the stage chatting to the crowd about the gigs of the past at venues like the Arena and Livid Festival (now a distant memory for those around at the time) before jumping into 'Just Ace' which in it's short, less then 2 minute length, managed to pack a big punch for those brave enough to enter the moshpit below us on the Falcony (Fan Balcony). Phil referenced the song 'Balding Matters' stating it was something a 17 year old worried about back in the day and 'Champion' sent the entire room into a frenzy, with crowd surfers and fists in the air everywhere. The band exited the stage after playing the last note of final song 'Truk' only for Phil to reappear in the spotlight at the opposite end of the venue for the acoustic ballad 'Protest'. He was right below where I was standing on the balcony so my only view of this was the copious amounts of smart phones being held up by fans close to the action.
This gave the rest of the band plenty of time to get ready for one hell of an encore full to the brim of fan favourites which began with the sing-a-long inducing 'Chemical Heart', followed up fast with it's counterpart 'Lost Control' both setting the standard for a typical Grinspoon show with high energy playing from all members. 'Ready 1' kept that momentum going before things slowed down momentarily for 'No Reason' which gave those up close enough time to catch their breath, only to get straight back into the fast pace for '1000 Miles' followed by a jump around session during 'Hard Act To Follow' and the epic closure of the night in the form of 'More Than You Are'. Grinners assumed their positions in centre stage, took a bow and walked out of our lives again... Ok, maybe not as dramatic as that.
The lads are back and they are playing at their absolute best nowadays. Maybe a break was all that was needed to reignite the flames again and have them giving their all, full of energy and pizzazz like they had 20 years ago. I still rate this band as one of the best Australian exports we have on offer and I'm so glad to call myself a big fan of theirs. BRING ON SHAKAFEST
Review by Browny (@brownypaul)
Setlist
Pressure Tested 1984
Boundary
DC X 3
Sickfest
Railrider
Scalped
Pedestrian
Just Ace
Post Enebriated Anxiety
Repeat
NBT
Don't Go Away
Balding Matters
Bad Funk Stripe
Champion
Truk
Protest - Phil Jamieson Solo
Encore
Chemical Heart
Lost Control
Ready 1
No Reason
1000 Miles
Hard Act To Follow
More Than You Are
Grinspoon bassist Joe Hansen is this week's co-host on Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall. Listen/Stream/Download here
Photo Gallery courtesy of Gethin Hill (Gethin Hill Photography)
Please credit Wall of Sound and Gethin Hill if you repost.
Good Boy
Hockey Dad
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Grinspoon - Guide To Better Living Anniversary Tour
