Watching a band perform two decades past their prime can invoke that stereotypical image of an aging pugilist stepping up for one last battering. While the spirit is there, the execution has often died along with their youth. The outcome is usually red faces from all concerned.
Fortunately for 1927, tonight’s performance at the Crown Palms lent itself to more of a nostalgic quality. While neutral observers may have had trouble sitting through the hour-and-a-half set, diehards couldn’t have asked for more. For them it was a time to revisit an era when Hey Hey was king and one-day cricket still had currency.
As a venue, The Palms provided the ideal platform for the band to display their wares, especially with its large capacity and a suitably moody smoke machine.
Though the basis of 1927’s Generation-i tour was to spruik a new album, they thankfully didn’t stray too far from a greatest hits set list. As expected, most of these hits came from …ish, an LP that most tend to forget is still one of the highest selling Australian debuts of all time. Not only did it spawn four top 20 singles, it also made a dent in the UK and US charts.
After 20 years it is surprising how well the songs have aged. This is in part due to the caliber of 1927’s songwriting as well as their ability to translate the cuts to a live environment. As a result, ‘The Other Side’, ‘Nothing In The Universe’ and ‘Scars’ all impress an admittedly easy-to-please – and mostly tipsy – audience.
To say there was scarcely an attendee under 30 would be a gross understatement. Though mostly well-behaved, there were a few odd occasions of heckling, especially by two ladies who took to drunkenly dancing while the band performed a serious track from their new LP, Generation-i. An eager fan also invaded the stage at the end of the set and promptly hugged frontman Eric Weideman.
Regardless of the behaviour, the band performed exactly as expected. ‘Compulsory Hero’, a tune Weideman dedicated to the Australia Armed Forces, was especially well received. So too was the band’s decision to leave their two biggest hits, ‘That’s When I Think Of You’ and ‘If I Could’, right until the encore; and although the call back efforts of the latter track may have felt a little like last drinks at the local, it still left most feeling satisfied.
Also noteworthy was Weideman’s unexpected rendition of The Police’s ‘Roxanne’, with his vocals not dissimilar from String’s raspy tone.
More than anything else, 1927 proved they are still in fine voice and have a punch or two to throw yet. Although they will never attain the dizzying heights of the late 80s, few would deny the band still have the goods two decades on.
– Paul Bonadio
