Project Description

GRINSPOON

The Enmore Theatre

6 July 2017

(Live Review)

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Maybe it’s the misty-eyed nostalgia that comes with looking back twenty years to when Grinspoon’s Guide to Better Living first hit the shelves. Maybe it’s the distant memory of a musical moment that meant something unforgettable but is impossible to recapture. Whatever the reason, there is bitter sweetness in seeing Grinspoon in full glory, performing the breakout record from start to finish.

It’s impossible not to get sentimental about a time before the life-giving power of mosh pits gave way to the soul-sucking scourge of a thousand Samsungs, all set to video function. When music was dumb and fun and nobody gave a shit as long as the groove was good. When you could sing a song like DCx3 without some dickhead in a cardigan blogging about how cats have feelings too, or whatever.

As a band, they’re virtually flawless; impossibly tight and energetic, as if untouched by the decades. At the centre of it all is Phil Jamison, somehow completely camp yet overtly and unapologetically hypermasculine.

The songs sound fresh and alive and when Jamison sings “Sweet child you’re such a princess now, I love the rainbow on your brow…I love your rainbow, oh no it’s winter….Winter” the satisfaction is overwhelming.

Because Phil Jamison is Phil Jamison he disappears from the stage only to reappear in the fenced off section at the back of the venue where the mixing desk lives to deliver the intro to Chemical Heart in the second half of their 90 minute set. It’s a small but cherished gift for fans that couldn’t get close enough to the stage and the kind of thing nobody is surprised Grinspoon does.

The packed house sings back every word of 1000 miles and More Than You Are as the band belts them out, and just for as second if you close your eyes you can almost feel the energy of 1997 calling. This is without question one of the most exciting shows of the year and the band’s performance manages to exceed every expectation.

Before Grinspoon play, local twopiece Hockey Dad do a set which helps cement their growing reputation as a kicking live act, not an easy thing to pull off for an entity consisting of only drummer and guitarist/vocalist. The sound is a kind of surfer pop punk and its simple sense of fun complements the bill pretty nicely. They are a rhythm driven act and drummer Billy Fleming is something else when he gets going.

Guide to Better Living first surfaced in that unique moment when grunge was over and the world was starting to lighten up again, but before the internet sucked all the fucking spontaneity out of popular culture and music became toxically safe. That fact alone makes it worth celebrating 20 years later, and maybe every 20 years after that, just to prove it really happened.

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Guide To Better Living Deluxe 20^th Anniversary Edition is out now
The Guide To Better Living tour kicked off at Kay St Entertainment Complex in Traralgon last Friday.

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Dave Bruce

My nickname is “The Amnplifier”. Why? Because around here my focus is on being a conduit for providing greater outcomes that people come here for. My day to day “work” is living in the moment, and I love helping others concentrate on finding their connection to themselves through their experiences.

Why start a music environment? The truth is I love music, I love writing, and I love life. I work with musicians every day, and I feel certain that I will be until they put me in the ground. I have been managing people in businesses of some sort for over thirty five years so along the way I have developed some “wisdom” from my regular and constant “observations”.

Amnplify your experience. That is what we want you to do here, and if you want to let me know why you do, or don’t, shoot me a message on Facebook.

Hope you enjoy yourself here and find something that hits you somewhere.