Best of nineties and noughties hit Coast
Step into the midst of the masses gathered at Broadwater Parklands on Sunday night - and step back in time. Well and truly into the 1990s. What a line up.
Australian rockers out of Adelaide, The Superjesus. Australian alt-rockers out of Western Australia, Eskimo Joe, fellow WA melodic rock charter toppers Birds of Tokyo. Then a band behind one of best songs (Lightening Crashes) and best albums (Throwing Copper) of all time, +Live+. And finally, angstridden 90s rockers Incubus with a great range from soft and melodic, to hard rocking screamers. Whatever tomorrow brings - all anyone at the Broad-water was thinking about was Sunday night as they relived great songs and memories from the nineties and the noughties.
As a security guard at the entry noted: “Great crowd, two evictions only, couple didn’t make it in for intox. The young ones don’t know who any of these guys are - it’s great.”
The five groups have come together for the Lookout festival series celebrating the best of alternative rock that has stood the test of time, plus some fresh sounds. Put on Throwing Copper. It’s just as good an album as when it came out in 1994 and set the world on fire with banger after banger.
And so is edgy lead singer Ed Kowalczyk’s spirited, piercing voice. +Live+ rolled through their hits. Shit Town. Pillar of Davidson. They played their later stuff. Turn my Head. When Dolphins Cry.
Then back to Throwing Copper, marking 30 years since it erupted on the world’s ears. I Alone came and went before they finished with Lightening Crashes - and the crowd just let that gem wash over them.
“Until we meet again, god bless and take care,” Kowalczyk yelled.
Incubus rolled quickly into Nice to Know You.
“What’s up? How are you all feeling? Good,” frontman and singer Brandon Boyd asked and answered.
They mixed up their hitridden catalogue with ripper covers of The Beatles’ Come Together and morphed Are You There with The Doors hit Riders on the Storm, which somehow worked.
There was some Massive Attack and even David Bowie after Boyd asked “What about now? Something new or something old?” and someone in the crowd yelled “Old! Everybody here is old.”
They wound into a powerful finish with Megalomaniac, before crowd-pleasing hits Whatever Tomorrow Brings and Wish You Were Here.
Sometimes, older is better. In this case, absolutely.