Grinspoon, Press Club, Oscar The Wild @ The Gov, Adelaide 9/11/2024
You could not have asked for a better afternoon and evening in the city of churches, the sun was out, the night was warm and the mighty Grinspoon were playing the intimate-ish (for them anyway) Governor Hindmarsh or The Gov as its more commonly known.
This was night two of a sold out three night stand across Adelaide with boys playing the Bridgeway and Northern Sound System on Friday and Sunday night respectively.
The Gov was in a mode I had not seen before with a much bigger rectangle stage, walls of speakers and barrier, which resulted in an even fuller looking venue. And by the time Grinners hit the stage the place was absolutely chockers, an impressive feat given the clash with the Froth and Fury festival just up the road at Port Adelaide. Classic Adelaide scheduling…
Adelaide’s own Oscar the Wild kicked the night off with a short sharp set that got the growing crowd moving and set the scene for what was to come.
Next up were Melbourne’s Press Club who really got the punters moving. The crowd had really started to build and there was a large number of genuine fans singing along and lapping up everything that Natalie was throwing at them. Natalie out front was electric, has an amazing voice, high energy and really had the crowd eating out of her hand. Finishing the set balancing on the front barrier, commanding over the crowd, was rockwomanship at its finest.
Then it was time for the mighty Grinspoon! By this stage the place was absolutely heaving, the boys hit the stage and launched into an opening bracket of Unknown Pretenders, DCX3, Just Ace, Rockshow and Lost Control which whipped the place into a frenzy. If any punters weren’t warm to start with, there were sizzling by then!
I’ve been lucky enough to see the boys a number of times over the last few years and to say they are absolutely at the top of their game would not be an overstatement. Those familiar chucky guitar riffs handled with ease by Pat and Phil’s voice and dance moves are as immaculate as ever.
Obviously here to promote the new album Whatever, Whatever the boys through a few newies in the set and the show momentum didn’t miss a beat. The likes of Never Say Never, Nasty and ILYSM hitting as hard as any on the impressive Grinspoon back catalogue.
A few nice moments with the band bringing their lighting tech on stage on his birthday and presenting him with a Grinspoon hall of fame trophy and also inviting Press Club’s Natalie on stage to share the vocal duties on The Only One.
Other highlights of the night were Ready One, 1000 Miles and their cover of INXS’s Don’t Change, before bringing the show to a climactic 1, 2, 3 punch ending. Chemical Heart, followed by Champion, then teasing the crowd with Sickfest, Black Friday and Pressure Tested 1984 before bringing it home, accompanied by confetti cannons, with More Than You Are.
They came, they conquered, they were Just Ace!
Live Review By Tim Nicholas