The Superjesus, Dallas Crane @ The Gov, Adelaide 17/2/2023
Remember the 90s when the Australian music scene was dominated by Alternative Rock bands that were highly successful and featured heavily in music festivals that were still a permanent fixture (vale, Homebake) on the cultural landscape? We got up on Saturday mornings to watch Rage and Recovery, and Triple J’s Hottest 100 was not a point of contention but a celebration of Aussie rock. With the Pandemic feeling like a fever dream and TikTok jingles taking over the mainstay of popular music, it seems that some of our rock veterans are coming back with force and bringing with them the same energy and passion of simpler times. Bringing their Money Tour home to The Gov with Dallas Crane supporting, The Superjesus put on a quality and nostalgic show for a healthy crowd of long-time fans and a lot of fresh baby faces that weren’t even born yet during their glory days.
Dallas Crane fired up the show with their almighty thumping bluesy rock and sweated out a solid sounding set. They cranked out their most popular tunes such as Lovers and Sinners and Lady Bird and even gave us a very impressive cover of Zeppelin’s‘Rock n Roll proving that Dave Larkin is still blessed with a voice that doesn’t quit and flows effortlessly out of him while he nailed the Jimmy Page solo. Proving they still have the fire in them, they worked hard but also had fun and had the audience bopping and dancing starting things off with great energy.
By the time The Superjesus entered the stage the Gov was packed and buzzing with anticipation. Sarah McLeod came out appearing to have not aged at all since the release of hit album Sumo and surprisingly donning a moon boot from breaking her foot, which did not slow her down a bit. Having run this tour alongside her collab show ‘The 27 Club’ and just recently announced their spot on the line up for Oakbank, Australia’s very own Rock n Roll Queen shows absolutely no sign of slowing down, broken bones or not, and plays and sounds as spectacular as ever. New(ish) members Cam Blokland (lead guitar) and Murray Sheridan (drums) blend in with the founding members so well that it comes as no surprise that these guys have made it back to the studio to record their first album in twenty years. We got a taste with new single Money (We’re only in it for Love) which was belted out ferociously by McLeod and sounding like the revamped Superjesus we didn’t know we were waiting for.
Of course, all the hits were played and delivered with precision, Gravity and Down Again took me back to my bedroom as a 14-year-old playing my Stratocaster pretending I’m McLeod, and slow feelsy Second Sun got us all singing our little hearts out. In case anyone has forgotten (and admittedly I had), The Superjesus are a prominent institution in Australian rock history with a distinctive style that remains unmatched and they still absolutely deliver in their performance. I wasn’t sure what to expect but was blown away by it, these guys are still as amazing and hard working as they were nearly 30 (yes. Let’s all sit with that for a minute) years ago when they started out. Now we wait in anticipation for their new material and hope that McLeod doesn’t injure herself dancing again in the meantime.
Live Review By Bec Scheucher