Monday, November 09, 2015

The Age Of Entitlement: The Basics

The Basics have released one of my favourite albums of the year, The Age Of Entitlement, which is a mixture of rock political anthems mixed with their tunes of heart pains and pop fun.

I saw the first full live run of it at their first Melbourne Festival show, at the Hub on the banks of the Yarra.

The tented bandroom was set up with the stage in the middle of the room, with the crowd standing all around, wondering how the boys were going to feel with people so close.

This was similar to a show they had had earlier in the year, that I have heard great things about, with the in-the-round set up mixing up the gig going experience.

First up was Benny Walker, who gave us an impressive guitar and voice set, and certainly ensured we remembered him from his strong song delivery.

Opening as the album opened, The Basics started with What Ever Happened To The Working Class, and then Coward's Prayer. Other album tracks such as Every Part Of Me, To Think Of You, Feels Like Love and the amazingly powerful Tunaomba Saidia was also there, and were highlights.

Hey Rain was included, which is also on this album, plus the fun Roundabout broke up the set.

A request from the audience saw Wally do a solo Maybe I'm Amazed cover of Paul McCartney's track, which was incredible.

My Old Mate finished this night off, as the album does.

In the middle of this show, however, they hinted at a final show before a long hiatus, or maybe the end of the road. Of course, we have heard this several times before, but the tone of the discussions

So to the Gasometer we went last week, to again see the boys play on a stage in the middle of the bandroom - this time on the smallest piece of staging possible, making any back step by someone on stage a moment of anxiety for all who could see!

Benny Walker returned as support, and also William Crighton first up, who had the bonus of having the three Basics join him to harmonise for two songs of his set.

The roof of the bandroom was opened once The Basics took the stage, and with the people hanging over the balcony above, this made for a pretty unique gig experience.

A punchy start to the night, with So Hard For You, and then political anthem Lucky Country.

Many of the new songs featured from The Age Of Entitlement, with surprise inclusions from previous releases such as You're Already Gone, and Second Best.

The sprinkling of covers was the real treat - Comfortably Numb, Songbird and Roxanne, impressive standouts.

A two hour set, with all the boys on song, if this was their farewell, what a way to go out! An epic show!

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