[MUSIC/Rock ~ AUS]
Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, Wed 25 Jan, 2023.
EVEN:
What a glorious balancing act of power-pop and Aussie pub rock. Fantastic tunes, brilliant lyrics and a catalogue of songs loved and adored by legions of fans across this wide brown land. Like the actual sun they shone brightly for a while and then they were gone. Like the Sunnyboy triangular orange ice treat, from whence they got their name, they were refreshing, delicious and super cool. 40+ years on from their start, with all the original members of the classic line up (now all around sixty years old), The Sunnyboys are still super cool.
This sterling evening was opened by one of the most under rated and greatest bands that have ever walked this Earth (IMHO), Melbourne’s mighty Even. Still kicking goals, making great new music and one of the best live bands you could ever wish to see. Whether they are on a huge arena stage supporting someone or playing at The Grace Emily Hotel, Even always deliver the goods and tonight is no exception opening with Stop & Go Man and Black Umbrella from their first and second albums respectively and those two songs alone serve as a reminder that they are a force to be reconned with. As if to declare ‘but wait there is more’ Six Monkeys from last year’s splendid Reverse Light Years album is a belter.
Out front man Ash Naylor is currently also in The Church, has been a member of The Stems, Rockwiz Orchestra, has toured with Paul Kelly, has a side band with Kram from Spiderbait (The Ronson Hangup) and God knows how many other things. But on top of being one of the best guitar slingers in the country Ash is an incredible singer and a peerless Beatles-esque songwriter, and a super nice chap. The rhythm section of Wally Kempton (aka Wally Meanie of The Meanies) and Matthew Cotter on drums are formidable in a way you can only be when you have been playing together for just shy of thirty years. They are a bit like Washington band The Posies or indeed the legendary Big Star, bands of utter brilliance that never really bothered the top of the mainstream pop charts, but fuck me, they should have. As well as killer songs like Don’t Wait they also paid tribute to Fleetwood Mac (Don’t Stop) and Crosby, Stills & Nash by transitioning into Almost Cut My Hair from Rock And Roll Saved My Life. Get some Even in your ears – thank me later.
Sunnyboys:
The expected, yet informal, audience competition of ‘who has got the oldest Sunnyboys t-shirt’ was in full flight from doors open and the sold-out Gov was packed to the gills by the time Jeremy & Peter Oxley, Richard Burgman and Bill Bilson take the stage for the final ever time in Adelaide. For a few short years Sunnyboys were one of the biggest acts in the country. Electrifying live band, killer catalogue, after five years the wheels sort of fell off and inner conflicts within the band along with Jeremy Oxley’s now well-documented mental health issues and alcohol abuse meant some of that magic sheen was gone.
Oxley attempted a couple of different versions of Sunnyboys without the classic members but they didn’t really work; Burgman went off and joined The Saints, Bill and Peter formed The Sparklers, and later joined Ed Kuepper’s The Aints (which considering Richard was in The Saints I found endlessly amusing). There were a couple of one off ‘Sunnyboys’ regroupings with various members absent, but in 2012 the played at the Hoodoo Gurus’ Garage Festival (Dig It Up) and the following years started doing gigs again, doing a major tour about once a year. But all of this activity was very mindful of Jeremy’s health and well being, but they all seemed to be having a ball again. If you have not yet seen the documentary The Sunny Boy – I strongly advise you track it down.
Watch The Sunnyboy Official Trailer 1 (2023) – Documentary
Tonight, was a blistering set of classic hits and fan favourites, the band on fire and tight as a duck’s butt! Opening with the sensational Love To Rule and My Only Friend, feet were moving and vocal chords were engaged right from the off. With Burgman taking on the role of MC and doing all the talking, Jeremy and Peter just looking pleased to be doing this thing one last time. For the next hour and a half was gem after gem. The classics (Show Me Some Discipline, What You Need) peppered with fan favourites like Gone, I’m Shakin’ and Lovers (on Another Planet’s Hell) and I Can’t Talk To You. But when they hit the biggies like Happy Man half way through the set, the audience blow the roof off the joint. Everybody’s singing, everybody’s dancing, everybody’s faces aching from the smiling.
An absolute highlight of tonight for me was You Need A Friend, which was the first single from the second album Individuals in 1982. Always one of my favourite Sunnyboys songs, it’s elevated tonight with the entire audience joining in Woooah Woaah Woaahhhh backing vocals. I was goosebumps all over with the hairs on my neck all standing at attention.
Watch Sunnyboys – You Need A Friend
They finish with a euphoric Alone With You and I’m nearly passing out from the adrenaline rush of this pop perfection.
Watch Sunnyboys – Alone With You
Astoundingly some people head for the door as soon as it’s finished. My mind screaming ‘ARE YOU CRAZY! THEY ARE ABOUT TO PLAY ONE OF THE BEST SONGS IN HISTORY!!!’ and return they do, Jeremy sand guitar but with some very cool shades on. Richard thanks us for coming, thanks us for supporting the band for so long and then they scorch their way through The Seeker. Pure ecstasy.
There is an unspoken element to seeing the Sunnyboys in the last few years. People know and understand Jeremy is fragile. He is the architect of this wonderful thing, but he is a bit broken. I am reminded of seeing Brian Wilson a few years back and his fragility was buoyed by the absolute love and care of both his band and the audience. Tonight, is the same. This audience LOVE this guy. They LOVE this music. They LOVE this band. The Sunnyboys in 2023, on their last orbit around the country before the sun finally goes down, are on stage with their brothers.
There is a lot of love in the room.
Thank you, Sunnyboys, for forty years you have made this boy’s life much more sunny!
5 stars
Ian Bell
All images courtesy of Ian Bell
#TheClothesline
#TheGov
