Grinspoon are one of those classic Aussie bands that everyone has a fond memory of. Their ‘Chemical Hearts’ tour has proven that they are still here to keep those memories from fading, and to create new, epic good times. Their reunion show was nothing short of explosive and kept us all fully engaged and entertained the whole time.
Kicking the night off was Bugs. The Forum was quite spacious at this stage of the night, but it didn’t stop the boys from giving their all and showing us what they were made of. They have a classic Aussie, 2000’s vibe and supplied us the intro to the night we all wanted.
Then enter The Gooch Palms. I have always been a big fan of this duo. They bring a classic baseline from the drums and their kooky personalities are always shining. They played their popular ‘Busy Bleeding’ single and my personal favourite ‘You’, which really flaunts Leroy’s full vocal potential...we also got to see his butt.
The Forum was well and truly filling up just in time for The Hard Aches. They play some really wholesome music. They performed most of the crowd favourites, where they explained how ‘Wasted’ is a song about getting sober...makes sense. For their final song ‘Get Like This’ they welcomed to the stage Camp Cope lead singer Georgia McDonald. It was a very pleasant ending to all the opening acts.
If you’re wondering how to plan an entrance to your gig...ask Grinspoon. Cue the curtain drop, flashing lights, and Phil Jamieson in a casual white suit and you’ve got a heart racing intro.
Beginning the set with ‘Lose Control’ you’re not really sure how the set could keep excelling from here, but somehow it surely does. Bringing out the old but gold tunes from Guide To Better Living, ‘Sickfest’ gave us the first guitar solo of the night. Everything was so explosive. It was a real rock show. I really didn’t know what to expect, having never seen Grinspoon live before and well, being a little older, I was curious to see what the energy was like on stage, and I was completely blown away.
‘Hard Act To Follow’ pleased the crowd and ‘Better Off Alone’ completely changed the tempo of the night but it bought back all the feels from the primary school days. ‘Better Off Alone’ was that song I’d listen to when I was sad, and you need that sad song to keep you sad but also comfort you. You feel me? The night was a constant reminder of why Australia loves this band so much. It didn’t take long for the mood to switch right back to the heavy rock and roll. ‘Ready 1’ slapped you in the face and forced you to jump with the crowd.
The crowd had a moment of confusion when Phil suddenly appeared in the middle of the venue with the spotlight on him and his guitar. It took a while for everyone to realise they should be looking behind them now, but it was a lovely moment. After Phil returned to the stage, they covered ‘Don’t Change’ by INXS.
The encore graced us with ‘Chemical Heart’, which is one of their best known songs, but for some reason didn’t stand out for me. I think every other song was so much of an outburst of energy that this one seemed...normal. ‘Champion’ and ‘More Than You Are’ finished off the set and it was full of energy right until the end.
Grinspoon goes to show that age is just a number, and that you’re only as old as you feel. Not that they are super old, but for the performance they produced, you’d think they were still in their 20’s. Going off their performance, they do not feel old at all. It’s always enjoyable to watch a band that are so genuine and happy to be performing for us. They’re the band that everyone says “yeah I used to listen to them when I was younger”. Phil was a great amount of performer without going too over the top. Grinspoon’s Chemical Hearts tour is one big fat success and I enjoyed every minute.
