Once upon a time there was a band called Powderfinger. All their fans from the ‘90s grew up and they had a shitload of children. Then on Saturday, those families all converged on a grassy patch at Melbourne Zoo in front of a stage with big speakers to see Bernard Fanning (ex-Powderfinger frontman) hammer out a selection of his solo stuff. You would be forgiven for thinking that you had unwittingly bought tickets for a Wiggles concert in an outdoor maternity ward if you came along to this gig. The fear of tripping over or stepping on a very small human in the dark was rife.
If the support act is supposed to warm the crowd, then Little May needed to turn up the heat a tad. The sweet, young trio from Sydney delivered the somewhat distracted audience some beautifully wispy folk music, something akin to Swedish duo, First Aid Kit. Softly strummed guitars accompanied honest and strong vocals and minimal percussion. They have a few catchy tunes if this genre is your bag.
Next was the man himself, Bernard Fanning. To open, it was just him and his guitar; acoustically serenading everyone with a brand new tune; Picking a Puzzle, set to be on the new album due out in the next couple of months. Fanning’s secret crush on country music isn’t so secret anymore, with all his new stuff featuring that certain yee-haw twang. Together with his band, The Palominos, he played a mix of well-loved tunes from Tea & Sympathy and Departures. Fanning does have one of those voices that is instantly recognisable and it visibly does something to people. The pockets of swaying women throughout the crowd became putty in his hands when he busted out Not Finished Just Yet.
Huge grey clouds loomed overhead for most of the main event before the heavens finally opened up and drenched the fans. That’s when Fanning decided his hit, Wish You Well would be appropriate so we could all let our hair down and dance in the rain. After seeing everyone up off the sodden ground, even he admitted, “Wow, I should have played that one a lot earlier.” A few rowdy hecklers baited him with requests for Powderfinger songs of course, but he waited right until two songs from the end to satiate the fans with a piano and vocals only rendition of Waiting for the Sun. It went down an absolute treat too; there was not one rear end still on a picnic rug.
Apart from the overpriced crèche thing, the gig had a really great atmosphere, especially towards the end. Melbourne Zoo did a sterling job at playing host; the set-up was organised meticulously and the sound system and staging were perfect. Bernard Fanning, on behalf of many couples in the crowd, thank you for the trip down memory lane. A lot of people totally got laid on account of ‘old times’ on Saturday night. Well done.
BY STEPH MARKS
Loved: Bernard’s honest and beautiful political rant halfway through the show where Tony Abbot et al copped it big time.
Hated: There was no secret Powderfinger reunion.
Drank: Not enough.
