Am I lost for words? Slightly. How do you describe a show that is greater than fucking awesome? Jebediah. At The Tivoli Theatre. Friday night (12 June).
Originally from Perth, the four-piece, iconic Australian '90s rock band Jebediah, made up of Chris Daymond, Vanessa Thornton, Brett Mitchell and Kevin Mitchell aka Bob Evans, are united to play their first ever show at The Tivoli in Brisbane, celebrating their epic 20-year anniversary tour.
If you were a teenager in '90s Australia, chances are Jebediah were the sound of your youth, the rebellion in your teens and the coming out of your musical closet. I first saw Jebediah in 1998 at The Arena in Brisbane when I was 14-years old while first discovering my love for music. Since then, they have always held a nostalgic place in my '90s rock & roll heart.
Click here for photos from the show.
The Tivoli is absolutely jam-packed full of fans, mostly 30-somethings, waiting to re-live their teenage dreams and ready to rock out. The energy is fierce at the sellout show and the crowd is heaving when the band come on stage and start to play that familiar sound we’ve all been waiting for.
Image © Bobby ReinThe show is split into two main acts; the first act is a series of Jebediah’s famous hits, old, obscure tracks and something in-between. The crowd is warming up and there are a lot of cheesy smiles around the place, meanwhile the band is in a seriously-happy mood with a stack of energy and banter on stage.
Wrapping up the first act, an interval takes us down nostalgia lane, showcasing a photographic montage of the band’s history, performances and special memories, reminding us of our questionable 90s dress sense. These guys are clearly best mates and it feels like we have all been welcomed into their friendly, happy world.
From the back of the room I battle my way to the front of the stage, ready for what we have all been waiting for. We are warming up our vocal chords for what was about to be the biggest sing-along of all time. The lights dim and Jebediah reappear to begin their second act, playing their most popular album, 'Slightly Oddway', from start to finish in all of its '90s rock glory.
'Leaving Home' begins and I am having serious flashbacks to being a teenager again, throwing myself around in a crowd full of sweaty boys and girls, covered in someone else’s beer and attempting to hold up crowd surfers while trying not to get kicked in the head. It’s the best.
Image © Bobby ReinThis band have so much energy and they are absolutely one hundred per cent rocking-the-fuck out, smashing out the hottest guitar sounds, jumping around on stage and forcing us into a singing and jumping frenzy. 'Harpoon' melts our hearts, followed by amazing performances of 'Invaders' and 'Military Strongmen'.
The highlight performance of the night from the album was definitely 'Teflon', which has us all jumping around to their epic guitar and drum crashing solos. It is clear the band really, really LOVE this. They love playing their old tunes and are having the best time on stage; this reflects through the crowd as we are all clearly friends now, bonding over our grungy, unfashionable youth we all love to love.
Soaked in sweat, beer, shameless dancing, crowd surfing, hugs and sing-alongs, I honestly feel this was the most energy I have seen at a gig for a very long time. My teenage youth has been revived and by the time the show wraps us, I know if we weren’t all already standing, there would have been a standing ovation because that was an absolutely excellent performance.
Click here for photos from the show.
