It’s a massive milestone for any band to make it to their tenth-year anniversary.
Melbourne’s The Getaway Plan nearly didn’t make it, taking a long hiatus after wrapping up touring of their debut album ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’.
After regathering and releasing two more albums, the band celebrated where it all began by performing two sets, including playing their debut album in full at The Triffid in Brisbane (14 September).
Support came from Melbourne band Harbours, who for a relatively new band commanded a large crowd. “You might not have heard of us before,” admitted singer Tony Robertson, but the crowd loved what they brought. Their songs were emotionally stirring and filled with heavy melodies, and performed with a lot of passion.
The Getaway Plan’s opening set was dedicated to their entire career. Songs from recent releases appeared, with ‘Battleships’ proving they can still perform a raging rocker and ‘Dark Horses’ showing pop flavours in their songwriting.
The influence on their newer songs became clearer when they covered Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’, an unexpected choice which they perfectly nailed. The Getaway Plan have become consummate professionals and singer Matthew Wright’s vocals have grown stronger.
“Are you ready to take shit back a bit?” Matthew asked after returning from a short intermission. Fans answered with cheers, although with many fans wearing shirts from the band’s first tour it was a sure sign the majority of the crowd had been waiting for this moment all night.
As fine as the first set was, the room’s energy changed when the band launched into ‘Streetlight’. The band whipped their instruments around as they rocked out and fans drowned out Matthew’s singing.
‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’ is a great album filled with big choruses and infectious hooks, but ten years as a band has brought a lot of muscle to the old songs. Their secret weapon was drummer and new member Dan Maio, whose presence added power to tracks like ‘Red Flag’ and ‘Rhapsody On A Windy Night’.
The Getaway Plan saved their hit ‘Where The City Meets The Sea’ for later in their set. Fans missed singing the opening line due to screaming, but they made up for their hesitation by singing as loud as they could for the rest of the song. It really is a brilliant song, filled with hooks and guitars that reach skywards and induced tingles down my spine.
It was disappointing to see audience members leave after the song, but true fans stayed for their final song ‘Transmission’, a glitchy, electronic track with piano and genuine emotion.
The faithful were rewarded with an encore, with the band playing the very first song they ever wrote, ‘Strings’. It’s a real surprise to hear The Getaway Plan were writing great songs from the very start, but this trip down memory lane showed they never stopped.
