The most base assumption that people make about me when I attend concerts that fall under the umbrella of Australia's prog/hard/alt rock umbrella is that I'm only there because of a boyfriend or the promise of some means to advance in the world. I believe it must be something to do with the fact that I, unlike the majority of most Traralgon-born human beings, prefer not to spend my existence decked in tracksuit pants and the latest techni-colour dream coat from Planet Surf. The two young ladies to my right on Saturday night appeared to have no qualms openly discussing this in reference to not only myself, but the two ladies to my left, and by the end of the night, we'd proved them oh so deliciously wrong. I was even surprised by the effort my neighbours made by singing along to whatever they possibly could, and that made me almost forgive them for irritating me with their filthy long greasemops.
But I digress.
As one of my mates so eloquently described the evening, "I almost wanted them to be shit so I wouldn't feel so sad."
The setlist was befitting a band celebrating over a decade of existence, in addition to farewelling their vocalist. It was a perfect blend of old and new. Clint Boge notably had several new tattoos blemishing his gorgeous torso; a neck piece saying 'Diezel' (which I can only assume is the name of one his children. The man is of god-like status, but WHY would he punish a poor child like that? It's worse than Atlas), and a slightly more impressive sleeve (we'll be seeing him drafted to Collingwood once the tour wraps up). There were several moments between songs in which Clint disappeared side-of-stage. It was time spent hydrating himself whilst the band played some lovely intermission, but whilst the crowd cheered, I couldn't help but feel chilled as I was seeing what the band would inevitably become in his absence.
I'll confess now- I looked at their setlist as everything was being set-up, and was therefore forewarned of the encore. This consisted of a beautiful, yet somewhat hokey acoustic rendition of 'Gone', which brought a slight salty dampness to my eyes. The band wisely chose not to play 'The End' as per their setlist sheet- there isn't one bad song from Imago, but all the same, it's not one of their strongest. Instead, Kurt, Ben, Clint and Glenn rounded out the night with one of my favourites from Begins Here; Always. All of a sudden the six years I'd known this band and the five other gigs I'd seen them play at felt ridiculously fleeting. Whatever tensions had eroded the foundations between Clint and his soon-to-be-former bandmates, they were set to lose something iconic. I couldn't help but feel despondent at seeing such an excellent onstage dynamic, but all the while knowing that offstage tensions would be running on a knife's edge.
Overall, it was an evening well worth the arguably criminal prices Saloon often charge for entry. Although the band insists that they'll soldier on without Clint...I couldn't help but feel as if it was the last hurrah for one of Australia's finest bands.
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