Powderfinger/ Whitley
Thebarton Theatre
Tuesday 17 June


Doors at 8pm my left foot. Victorian Whitley was already onstage only ten past this hour meaning I only caught his last four songs. Not being whisked away by his debut 'The Submarine', I wanted to see if Whitley live would tide me over. Why I was not intrigued by his soulful tones earlier is beyond me as I will now be revisiting said record to indulge even if the audience tonight paid little to no attention except when "You can dance, you can jive/ having the time of your life" rang out in his rendition of ABBA's Dancing Queen. Whitley may have been a slightly off choice for this support slot, but here's to hoping the passionate folk singer/ songwriter packs out theatres like this of his own accord.

After a series of wishy-washy shows over the last year, this gig was massively anticipated from its inception. Powderfinger has recently played pleasingly, but the set lists weren't at the adrenalin pumping heights they used to attain. So in a smart move, tonight the songs were chosen by Adelaide fans in an online poll. Pat on the back and gold stars for us because this was the most appealing and varied set heard in a long time. Add to that the concept of two sets (one acoustic, the other rockin') played in a venue that last saw the five lads together nigh on ten years ago and you've got a rare musical delight.

Seeing Powderfinger is like seeing old mates, only this reunion was about the old times with a new approach rather than banging on about their current status in the same tired way. The acoustic set opened the night and they wasted no time, big hits flooding the first half of the set. Obvious acoustic tracks included The Metre and My Kind Of Scene, but the magic happened when popular Lost And Running was refreshed and given a jolt on the good ol' Matons alongside Bless My Soul which was initially unidentifiable as it received a brilliant country twang. Surprising votes included a cute reworking of personal favourite Private Man and when guitarist Darren Middleton took the mic for rare live track JC from 'Double Allergic'. You might've seen the 'Finger do acoustic before, but not like this. The setting, the venue and the classics made this an experience beyond any large scale concert's 'intimate section'.

As promised, Powderfinger returned to "rock the bejesus out of the place" in their loud set opening with Stumblin'. It would be a crime to complain about the set list considering I'd forgotten about the poll, so we should be thankful Adelaide are clearly tired of hearing Sunsets and I Don't Remember which have been the repeated downfall of previous shows.

Solidly belting out old greats (Up & Down & Back Again, Since You've Been Gone and My Happiness which as usual the crowd single-handedly roared out the chorus to) in their original form, Bernard Fanning's bellow was on the money in this set right until the encore of Living Type and the one and only On My Mind.

Monika Laskowski