this gig has been 33 years in the making (and dreaming)
in 1982 soon after arriving in australia i was a fan of triple j
tuned in one day at work and 'when you were mine' blasted out
love at first note - album - the blurred crusade bought on that day
and since then played repeatedly and now as a place of aural solace
a few tunes thankfully making it to bulging set lists since then also
the band just keeps getting better with the latest peak further deeper
that album released last year and almost predictably on high rotation
so unbelievable excitement at the announcement of this mid-2015 tour
the blurred crusade from start to finish followed by further deeper
a dream gig and an australian trip arranged around the sydney show
i get myself to the show early enough to get the position of choice
standing 3-4 metres from stage centre for optimal sight and sound
the place soon fills up with well-mannered and older-generation fans
a looped woman's voice providing appropriate ephemeral atmosphere
dry ice blown on stage builds and dissipates - the wait is excruciating
when the lads finally hit the stage the crowd goes wild - 'good evening'
straight into it - almost with you - and with that it's an instant time warp
and great to again see the ageless peter koppes and a very lithe steve kilbey
new man ian haug looking the part and tim the-rock powles is back of stage
he and utility man craig wilson seem a long way off relatively but we'll cope
second tune - when you were mine - been wanting that live for a long time
no disappointment with the band firing already and obviously well rehearsed
the church does not take their audience at all for granted in their live show
the songs peeled off and each perfectly executed including another favourite
just for you - ian haug simulating the door-knock on his acoustic guitar body
yours truly irresistibly shouting out - yeh wait there - to some peer approval
the song the best love song ever methinks and now heard live is just so - sigh
you took - a regular in their set and absolutely incendiary in context tonight
the intro is mind-blowing and the long instrumental is a blissful aural assault
when the band then connects to close out the song it is totally spine-chilling
and then don't look back - gasp - this band has stayed true to that sentiment
so, so happy with the set and then a promise of more and - oh my god - melt
the recognisable opening notes of life speeds up - a long lost classic tune
inexplicably not on any official album and not heard live in living memory
here on this night it is stunning - like the band has been playing it relentlessly
which they should - it is gloriously long with multiple key and tempo changes
it sounds so contemporary (well yes like the album it follows) - i'm delirious
sk announces a 15 minute break which gives them and us a chance to re-group
and then - further deeper we go - a promise of a bunch of tunes from the album
vanishing man rightfully first and now an unexpected lift in intensity on-stage
ian haug was looking and sounding good before - now he's glowing with pride
and the sound is just incredible with the layered sounds of the album also there
other album tracks played just as well and me thinking i am in aural heaven
the back-catalogue is also plundered for a mix of well-known and rare tunes
there's not a note missed and guitars come and go with each passing track
and the energy levels remain high - sk in particular is all over the stage
doing the splits with his beloved bass a favourite and impressive pose
3 amazing hours of sonic bliss - head back, eyes closed a necessity
soak it all up - it just does not get any better for this long time fan
the only disappointment - it ended - no - the crowd response
apart from the hit single they seemed kind of...reserved...
a few exceptions but mostly it seemed a bit understated
we got them out for 1 encore - more - but it not happen
what an incredible gig - expectations met - and surpassed....
