It’s been over 23 ”ish” years since 1927 stormed the charts here in Australia in late 1988 with their 500,000 plus selling debut album …iSh. Featuring smash hit singles That’s When I Think Of You, If I Could, You’ll Never Know and Compulsory Hero, ..iSH, remains one of the highest selling debut albums ever by an Australian band….and that’s a fact! Second album The Other Side followed in 1990 with Tell Me A Story and The Other Side leading that albums singles charge. Whilst a self titled, third album followed in 1990, unfortunately the end was nigh and 1927 as an active band faded into the ether…until now! In the 2010’s, 1927 is well and truly back, featuring singer/guitarist Erik Weideman as the only original member of the band, 1927 has now truly re-established itself since their return in 2010 touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of iSh. Having caught them on that tour, as well as supporting Roxette on their recent Aussie tour, I think it goes without saying that 1927 hold a pretty special place amongst my most loved Australian bands.
Amongst the plush surrounds of The Palms, as much as it was a night of nostalgia for the many in attendance who were clearly getting their first dose of 1927 since the 90’s, it was importantly the Melbourne launch of new album Generationi. Opening up the show was unfortunately not USA rockers The Rembrandts as was the plan when the tour was initially announced. Alas, they had to withdraw from the tour a few weeks prior and instead we were treated to a selection of mostly jazzed up covers from the Dale Ryder Band, Dale Ryder as in Boom Crash Opera fame.
But tonight was all about 1927 and first up, I’ve gotta say without question, this was the best performance from 1927 that I have witnessed since their return. I guess it goes without saying that a 700 or so capacity venue such as The Palms is a far less intimidating proposition than a 16,000 seat stadium such as Rod Laver Arena playing before Roxette. Whilst I had never previously questioned the execution of the songs, tonight the final piece of the jigsaw was found, with a highly engaging stage presence from Erik Weideman out front and plenty of band and crowd interaction.
Kicking off the set with the opening track from …iSh, To Love Me, two songs from second album The Other Side, followed in Don’t Forget Me complete with the rousing mid-song sing along of “glory, glory hallejuah” then we were hit with the pulsating keyboard heavy melodic rock of A Day Like Today. We were treated to the first of a few new tracks, with the uplifting and inspired chorus of The Story Never Ends slotting right into the set beside one of my alltime songs, You’ll Never Know, which was the third single from iSh. Delivering a 90 minute set certainly offered the opportunity for a bunch of album tracks to be aired, none less than the INXS styled rock of It Ain’t Love from the self titled third album, followed by the sombre Scars which was that albums single. An obviously deeply personal song, introduced by Weideman as the song about a “horrible, horrible, time” of his life. Continuing with the slightly sombre theme, sharing a little known fact Weideman introduced The Other Side as the song he wrote about a girl whom he knew, who was a victim of Melbourne’s Hoddle St massacre.
Bass player Simon Shapiro, whilst obviously bringing the bass, also brings to the fray some killer backing vocals, which were on display during a song that he also wrote for Generationi, titled Believe In Your Own Lies. Having recently had the opportunity to play for the troops in Afghanistan, the always stirring Compulsory Hero was dedicated to those currently serving at war. No matter how many times I listen to this song, there’s always that same spine tingling feeling when I hear the keyboard/piano intro to this song and hearing it performed live only adds to its impact. A segue intro of The Who was an inspired choice for some crowd sing along moments leading into Track 9 from …Ish, that being Give The Kid A Break, which saw the band really extending into harder edged rock territory and Craig Laird a chance to really let loose on guitar. The rock didn’t stop there, now it was time to wheel out another track from ...Ish, Propaganda Machine which lyrically is more relevant today, than when it was written over 20 years ago. That oh so familiar intro power chord progression of the song that started it all, That’s When Think Of You, had those choosing to leave the comfort of their plush booths well and truly dancing in the aisles.
Yes, we had the obligatory walking off the stage moment, signalling an encore, however what momentarily followed, was an apparent act of confusion from the controller of the house lights, who decided to shower the room in bright lights, which for some, nearly resulted in what would have been a hasty premature evacuation. But calm was soon restored with the dimming of the lights and besides, we still had THAT song to hear, so of course the band was still going to return. Taking things, way, way, way back to the beginning when Weideman was first “discovered” appearing on Red Faces on Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday, we were treated to an impromptu vocal performance of Roxanne and wow, was that a darn impressive and powerful vocal display It was time for the band to join in again and The Mess gave us another album track off …iSh, before we were treated to If I Could, the bands highest charting single. There was plenty of crowd sing along moments and with the gusto displayed by some of those nearby, it looked every bit the case that they’ve waited over 20 years to sing this song in a room full of other passionate 1927 fans, rather than singing by themselves in the shower, car, or maybe inside their head?
Having played for the best part of 90 minutes, wearing my “fan” hat, I walked away from this performance completely satisfied with what was a faultless choice of songs – I mean they played A Day Like Today and Give The Kid A Break!! With a new album finished and now available for purchase at the shows and set for an iTunes release shortly, I think its safe to say that 1927 won’t be going away in a hurry just yet. Make sure you go catch them next time they hit a town near you. Sydney that’s you this Friday, 31 August at the Enmore and Brisbane Saturday 1st September at The Tivoli.
You can check out out gallery of live photos from the performance right here…
Essential Information
Venue: The Palms @ Crown Casino, Melbourne, Australia
Date: 24 August 2012
Support: Dale Ryder Band
Promoter: Empire Touring
Website: www.1927.net.au
