Press
19-03-2006
Show and Tell
(Sun Herald)
(Short Elvis (aka Silverchair), The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills)
About
2 ½ years ago things wee looking grim for Silverchair. Daniel
Johns had made it clear to management he wasn’t planning to record with
the band for some time – and I remember speculating in this column
whether the band might split permanently. I’m so glad I was wrong.
Inside the Gaelic Club on Thursday night, where Silverchair were
performing under the name Short Elvis, there was a sense of awe that
the band were back on stage, delivering one of the best sets of their
career.
The Short Elvis gig was a low-key, intimate show designed to get the
band back in gear ahead of some larger scheduled performances,
including the Great Escape festival in Sydney next month. We
promised the band’s management we wouldn’t review the concert itself –
and Silverchair’s new tunes – because this was simply a warm-up show
for the band. Well, blow me down if this wasn’t the best
Silverchair concert I’ve seen since they wee performing as 15-year-olds
at the first Homebake festival in Byron Bay. So it’s hard not to
tell the world about it.
The three Silverchair musicians – Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies and Chris
Joannou- were at their sweaty, sexy best on stage, reclaiming the
riotous joys of rock ‘n’roll with spirited guitar solos and powerful
drums. They were joined on stage by an honorary fourth member,
Paul Mac, who merrily bounced away at his keyboards in a Yoko Ono
t-shirt, a humorous nod to his role in taking Johns away from the band
for the Dissociatives project.
But it was Johns who left fans astounded, simply because he was
enjoying himself so much. Smiling constantly, laughing with his
bandmates chatting and joking with the crowd, Johns was at his exciting
best as a frontman, although he kept apologising for “not knowing how
to do it anymore”.
At one stage a fan urged the band to play something from Silverchair’s
1995 debut album Frogstomp. But after delivering a mesmerising new
track, which prompted a massive roar from the crowd, Johns laughed and
told him: “You don’t want anything from Frogstomp anymore, do you
mate? You’ve just seen the future”.
Corey Diffin 22, Mosman “They never disappoint. They seem to be able to
reinvent themselves so successfully. I’ve been following them
since I was 12.”
Tracey Sherwood-Jones, 22, Central Coast “They were great, back to
their rockin’ best. Daniel looked so healthy and Paul Mac was
very comfortable with the rock stuff.”
Adrian McGruther, 22, Bondi “It was great, a lot more diverse. A
big step from Diorama. Daniel has got renewed energy; he’s
smiling a lot.
Elizabeth Tiamzon, 27, Winston Hills “I liked the new stuff especially
– it’s got more beat and bass. It was weird seeing Paul Mac
intereact with the others, but it blended well.
