Big anniversaries have habit of being funny things. A time to fondly reflect back to when the journey began, to pat yourself on the back for overcoming all the hurdles life has undoubtedly thrown your way throughout the years, all the while asking yourself “where did all that time go?”
Australian bands of the nineties were a pretty special breed. In a time before the internet was a real thing, in a time when Richard Kingsmill’s word was to be trusted and compact disc was the medium de jour, there seemed to be a real formula for bands to follow. Build your reputation on the strength of your live show, sign to an indie-offshoot of a major, tour hard all around the country and enjoy some moderate recognition, enjoy very little recognition overseas despite your touring efforts, and if you were lucky, come back home to a gold record and some ARIA nominations.
Back in 2005, Front End Loader were already mainstays of the Sydney scene, howling from the Inner West walls of the Annandale Hotel all around the country. 20 years later, they showed their home town that they can still make noise and pulse with the best of them.
For kids who cut their teeth on nineties local indie, bands like Jebediah were familiar faces in every youth hall, pub hall and local festival across the country. So as guitarist Chris Daymond, the Mitchell brothers Brett and Kevin, and bassist Vanessa Thornton emerged before The Metro crowd, they were met with the warmest of embraces by the same faces who’d greeted them throughout the preceding decades.
Sure, the waistlines had expanded inversely to the hairlines; but as the opening chorus of ‘Did You Really’ proved, age did little to dampen the unadulterated shouting-of-lyrics-in-to-stranger’s-faces-whilst-standing-arm-in-arm-with-your-best-high-school-mates vibe of the affair.
Phase one of the evening was a smorgasbord of Jebediah songs through the years. Familiar tunes ‘Trapdoor’, ‘Please Leave’ and ‘Animal’ intersecting with some later tunes a la ‘She’s Like A Comet’.
Vanessa’s bass guitar seemed only dwarfed by her smile, Brett played percussion happily mouthing every lyric that his vocalist brother Kevin (aka Bob Evans) delivered front of stage, Chris periodically pausing to let the crowd know how “truly fucking great” they were. This was a band matching style with substance, and enjoying every damn minute.
Emerging from a short break, ‘Jebs ‘ launched in to their Slightly Oddway record, playing cover to cover through an album that, for many folks present, provided the soundtrack to the summer of ‘97/’98.
From the infectious ‘Leaving Home’, through the nostalgia of ‘Harpoon’, to the bouncing ‘Teflon’, this was the record that launched a little group from the West coast out to the nation. The joyful singing along to every track by the crowd served to reassure that this was an album that had etched itself into the memory of an important period for Australian indie music.
After ‘Twilight = Dusk’ they were heartily hailed back for an encore, delivering ‘Feet Touch The Ground’, through the crowd sing-a-long favourite ‘La Di Da Da’, before a throwback ‘Tracksuit’ from the Twitch EP, rounded out by ‘Monument’. It was not lost on the group how lucky they were to still be playing shows like this 20-odd years after winning a campus band contest in Perth. As Kev, Chris, Brett and ‘Ness came together for a final grin-heavy bow, it was not lost on the crowd that they were just as lucky to have been a part of that journey.
Upcoming Shows
Friday, 12th June 2015
The Tivoli, Brisbane
w/Screamfeeder
Wed 17th June 2015 – FINAL MELB SHOW ON SALE NOW
The Corner Hotel, Richmond,
w/Bodyjar
Thursday, 18th June 2015 – JUST ANNOUNCED
The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
w/Fur
Friday, 19th June 2015 – SOLD OUT
The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
w/Fur
Saturday, 20th June 2015 – SOLD OUT
The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
w/Fur
Thursday, 25th June 2015
HQ, Adelaide
w/Red Jezabel
Friday, 26th June 2015 – SOLD OUT
Astor Theatre, Perth
w/Turnstyle
Friday, 25th June 2015 – JUST ANNOUNCED
Astor Theatre, Perth
w/Turnstyle
Friday 26 June 2015 – SOLD OUT
Astor Theatre, Perth, WA
w/ Turnstyle
Saturday 27 June – SOLD OUT
Astor Theatre, Perth, WA
w/ Red Jezebel
Sun 28 June – FINAL PERTH SHOW ON SALE NOW
Astor Theatre, Perth, WA
w/ Beaverloop
Tickets and info at www.jebediah.net
