Anberlin, The Getaway Plan @ The Forum, Mebourne (09/09/2014)
With a crowd stretching the next street over, it's safe to say that there is a fair bit of hype for tonight's Anberlin show at the Forum. After all, it is one of the last times the band is to take on music before heading off to greener pastures. Considering the success of Anberlin, these fields are probably glowing.
The old theatre is the perfect place for the finish of a band that reinvented itself every few years, the raised statues showcasing just the type of melodrama Anberlin have done so well over the years. Upon entry a line almost as large as the one outside stands before the overflowing merch table. Even before starting, it's clear tonight isn't going to fade from memory anytime soon. |
The irony of having The Getaway Plan as sole supports for your final tour alone makes them worthy supports, but they belong to be there in their own right. Attempting to make a mark on a crowd with only half an hours set time certainly isn't an easy task. But as they come out to stage with a post rockesqhe riff that feels as if the stars are blinking out (or rather the starlights mounted to the Forum roof) it seems like they could achieve this even if they were completely blind.
Unfortunately it's a feeling that fades as soon as they hit their older songs. It's pretty clear from the way vocalist Matthew Wright holds the mic far enough away that his voice can't reach that the band want to move on from the sound that hoisted them into the spotlight. The way the band holds still like statues only supports this. But even they can't hate everything about their old sound as closer Where The City Meets the Sea shows. It's the first pleasant wave of nostalgia tonight, but certainly not the last.
Generally it's a moment of dread when a vocalist holds the mic out in an acoustic song. But as Anberlin's Stephan Christian throws up his singing duties to the crowd it's a moment of beauty with every line song in key. It's enough to bring a smile to band and fan alike. The smiles aren't exactly new having been there since the moment the band hit stage, with Christian climbing into the crowd within the first song. It's the 9th time in 12 years that Anberlin have been in Australia, and the love between the two is still as great as ever, clearly evident with their powerful Australian ode in the song Adelaide and guitarist Joseph Milligan's Cherry Bar shirt.
Despite having lost the skinny jeans and cut their hair, closer Feel Good Drag is just as blistering as when it first appeared on 2005's Never Take Friendship Personal. The band seem to think so, with tomorrow's show at 170 Russell featuring the entire album played in full for the first time ever. Finally it's time for one of the last encores Anberlin are to ever play, closing of with the aptly titled epic *(Fin). The gospel swirls through the theatre but the audience apparently have had their fill, even with the gorgeous choiresque vocals.
Ben Spencer
Unfortunately it's a feeling that fades as soon as they hit their older songs. It's pretty clear from the way vocalist Matthew Wright holds the mic far enough away that his voice can't reach that the band want to move on from the sound that hoisted them into the spotlight. The way the band holds still like statues only supports this. But even they can't hate everything about their old sound as closer Where The City Meets the Sea shows. It's the first pleasant wave of nostalgia tonight, but certainly not the last.
Generally it's a moment of dread when a vocalist holds the mic out in an acoustic song. But as Anberlin's Stephan Christian throws up his singing duties to the crowd it's a moment of beauty with every line song in key. It's enough to bring a smile to band and fan alike. The smiles aren't exactly new having been there since the moment the band hit stage, with Christian climbing into the crowd within the first song. It's the 9th time in 12 years that Anberlin have been in Australia, and the love between the two is still as great as ever, clearly evident with their powerful Australian ode in the song Adelaide and guitarist Joseph Milligan's Cherry Bar shirt.
Despite having lost the skinny jeans and cut their hair, closer Feel Good Drag is just as blistering as when it first appeared on 2005's Never Take Friendship Personal. The band seem to think so, with tomorrow's show at 170 Russell featuring the entire album played in full for the first time ever. Finally it's time for one of the last encores Anberlin are to ever play, closing of with the aptly titled epic *(Fin). The gospel swirls through the theatre but the audience apparently have had their fill, even with the gorgeous choiresque vocals.
Ben Spencer