It's hard to believe Camp Cope have only been together for little over half a decade.
In that time, we've watched them go from playing un-elevated corners of record stores to, as tonight showed (13 May), captivating a full Forum, at their long-awaited homecoming show on a tour that finally managed to go ahead.And the band's third album, 'Running With The Hurricane' released in March, really shows how far they've come.
The vocal stylings and assured experimentalism Georgia Maq offered in her outstanding 2019 solo record have been built on, and the record oozes with a palpable excitement of pushing their sound beyond anything they'd been pigeonholed as.
Yet at the heart of it all, and what makes Camp Cope so damn good at what they do, is the innate understanding of each other that Maq, bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich and drummer Sarah Thompson have.
This was on show tonight as the three joked about on stage – with Hellmrich resting her bass against a growing baby bump (that's one lucky bub, being drip-fed Mum's signature bass work) – and treated the gig like a celebration rather than focusing too much on the past few years.
Coming on stage following Taylor Swift's 'All Too Well' playing over the PA, it was a one-two punch with 2016 favourite 'Keep Growing' and the wildly infectious 'Jealous' from the new record; and as they tore through an uplifting set, the surprises kept coming.
Singer Angie McMahon strode onstage for 'The Screaming Planet', then Courtney Barnett joined to play guitar on a few tracks, including the stunning 'Sing Your Heart Out'.
One constant throughout the show, however, was the providing of Auslan interpretation for every moment. Camp Cope have always worked hard to be as inclusive as possible – and are the first to admit they're not perfect – and this struck me as a genuinely great thing (and also had me checking my privilege, because of course anyone can love music, just the delivery method isn't always the way I know it to be).
Throughout the set, it was hard to ignore the piano going unplayed in the corner of the stage – so it was no surprise when it featured heavily for the last few tracks, including the title track from the latest record, as Maq paid tribute to her late father.
And the might of that song, with its rollicking, almost honky-tonk piano, was the perfect encapsulation of how far they've all come – the incredible stage star Maq now is and how that raw emotion that shines through Camp Cope music comes in many forms now.
After letting everyone know they were not going to fake goodbyes to do an encore, it wasn't hard to pick that the last song would be 'The Opener', off their breakthrough second album and a poignant moment considering the songs lyrics.
Barnett was back for this one too (the last time the pair shared a stage in Melbourne was for bushfire benefits in 2019), as was everyone who had filled the stage tonight.
It was also purely goosebumps material when the entire crowd sang-along to these lines: "It's another man telling us we can't fill up the room/ It's another man telling us to book a smaller venue."
While we all grew accustomed to seeing Maq in her scrubs as she delivered vaccines throughout 2021, it's so nice to have her and Kelso and Thommo back on the big stage.
And, judging by the leap off the stage to run to her mum for a hug at the end, Maq's pretty happy to be back up there too.
