Full circle but better – that was life with The Sunnyboys at the Forum. Full circle for the band, for Jeremy, and a reunion for the four us. Three months on from buying tickets, anticipation was high, and stomachs churned. Was Jeremy gonna be ok? Would the band be tight? Were we really too old for this?
Any angst vanished in moments in one of Melbourne’s most atmospheric venues. Fittingly, the boys chose a support band with Sydney roots (from the ’80s Died Pretty) in Ron S. Peno & The Superstitions. The first half of the set seemed like background music as we settled ourselves in with t-shirts and beers, but towards the end of the set, the band ramped it up with a superb sound, energising us to take our rightful places by the stage.
It wasn’t long before some fab early footage of the guys surfing and performing screened onstage. Upbeat voiceovers explained “fun” as the band’s early motivator. Here Comes The Sun queued in to set the scene – just right. The Beatles were our first favourite band, and early Sunnyboys looked to us like Beatles in a Hard Day’s Night – stove pipes, pointy toed boots, and mop tops (combined with surfy attitude Australian-style) – Harrison’s optimistic anthem was a perfectly beautiful way to kick off the Sunnyboys.
The boys arrived on stage to rapturous applause and kicked straight into As I Walk, a song they’ve used in recent shows to settle themselves in; poignant lyrics from Jeremy straight up, with the chorus refrain “when there’s no one else to lean upon but me” (from Wildcat ‘89). But it was clear on Friday that Jeremy has found in his wingmen Peter, Richard and Bil, someone else to lean upon, as they gently encouraged their lead man. The audience grinned from ear to ear, sang along to every song, pogo dancing as we were enveloped by a bevvie of guitars like some kind of wall of sound.
It’s hard to pick one highlight from another, as the whole night seemed to deliver pure highlights. All our favs were covered, including Alone With You, Happy Man, Love to Rule, You Need a Friend, the gut-wrenching Let You Go, and Peter’s The Stooge. But if I had to choose one, it would be in the encore, after a change of guitars when Jeremy put his down, and the band ripped into The Seeker – the first time the band had played it in 20 years. There was freedom in it for him, unencumbered, and in the bosom of his band he air-guitared alongside Richard. It was always about the music, and more recently the pain and understanding we’ve gained from the doco, The Sunnyboy, about love, about celebrating life, and the whole cohesive story that was the Sunnyboys.
BY KATE RING
Loved: The encore performance of The Seeker.
Hated: Not much at all.
Drank: This and that.
