A hot night and packed venue welcomed the start of Jebediah's 30 Odyears tour, taking them around the country to celebrate three decades since the band formed. . . how the heck is that possible?!
Gen X were out in force at Adelaide's Lion Arts Factory (16 October) with a sea of black t-shirts, ready to jump like it was 1995, but realistically jumping like the knees can't quite do that anymore, at least for a whole show. I can say it, because I'm one of them!
The crowd arrived early to catch local support act Sunsick Daisy, as they confidently played unfamiliar songs to a welcoming audience and undoubtedly won a few over.
Their blend of pop-rock, shoegaze and drone was a perfect choice as support for Jebediah, with set highlights 'It'll Be Alright' and new track 'Pale Blue' getting the biggest responses.
I don't know if there's ever been a more iconic choice of intro music than the 20th Century Fox theme back-to-back with the 'Family Ties' theme song, but I certainly can't think of one.
It set the tone, with ear-to-ear smiles throughout the room as Chris Daymond (lead guitar), Kevin Mitchell (guitar, vocals), Vanessa Thornton (bass) and Bett Mitchell (drums) walked on to the stage and immediately burst into opening song 'Smiler'.
'Benedict' and 'Animal' followed in quick succession, delivering the sugar hit of nostalgia that the room had been hanging out for. A dip into the lesser known brought out tracks from across the band's discography, with poppy jangle 'First Time', from the 'Braxton Hicks' album a standout.
It was clear the band enjoyed playing songs from outside the usual festival set, and they were all in the moment, jumping around the stage and grinning as they played. 'Please Leave' was a popular sing-along as the crowd chanted the chorus: "Screw up your life again."
'Motivation' from 2024's 'Oiks' album was a fresh blast, demonstrating they haven't stopped creating cracking tunes that'll move a room, before dipping back into the discography with 'Fall Down' and 'She's Like A Comet' turning up the heat even more in the already sweaty venue.
Introducing 'Run Of The Company', Kev explained they'd composed it for an orchestra to show they were "serious musicians", but didn't have an orchestra with them tonight, so Chris would be picking up the extra parts. His fantastic work perhaps missed the tuba line, but came pretty close.
Saying goodbye before some of the biggest nostalgic hits had been played made it clear an encore was on the cards, and they returned to the stage with 'Leaving Home', whipping the crowd into a frenzy. 'Harpoon' got the sing-along it deserved, and 'Jerks Of Attention' was a sublime finale, leaving everyone sated while wishing for more.
As I left, I reflected on the quality of the set list, which traversed albums and years seamlessly, highlighting the band's influences and energy over time. What also stuck out was the many classic songs they didn't get time to play, leaving anticipation and excitement for next time.
