Songs In The Key of J
Hindley Street Music Hall
By James Murphy
In the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s, few Australian alternative bands could rival the accolades of Spiderbait: they were the first Australian band to snare number 1 in the Triple J Hottest 100, their tunes featured in Hollywood movies and US TV series, their single, ‘Black Betty’ topped the charts for weeks. In the last twenty years, the three-piece of Kram, Whitty and Janet English have released just two albums. With their new single, My Car’s A UFO, released this year, there could be new music on the horizon. Their latest tour, though, was a nostalgic tribute to the music sung by Janet.
Since the lifting of COVID restrictions, there has been a marked trend of 90s alternative Aussie bands embarking on “concept tours”: 25th album anniversaries, mainly. Such tours have their benefits: often it’s a chance to see earlier material that may scarcely have been performed live; by narrowing the focus of the set list, too, they leave the opportunity for repeat tours sooner, because fans are left wanting more.
The Songs In The Key of J, by shining the spotlight upon Janet, allowed Spiderbait to rummage around in the attic and bring back deep cuts from Shashavaglava like ‘Footy’ and ‘Yeah O Yeah’ from The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley. With the set list chronologically ordered, it allowed fans to witness the group’s decade and a half progression from thrash to garage rock to pop punk in the space of an hour and a half. For aficionados, the faithful, this was a treat. While Kram has always been the enigmatic front man, the tour was also a demonstration of the enormous contribution that Janet has made to the band’s success: her singles ‘Calypso’, ‘Stevie’, ‘Outta My Head’, ‘Jesus’ and ‘Glockenpop’ were radio mainstays.
The casual punter that was only familiar with ‘Black Betty’, ‘Shazam!’ and ‘Buy Me A Pony’, though, was in for disappointment, but they should have read the fine print. Kram fans still had plenty to marvel at, as he didn’t miss a beat even on the frenetic early material. On ‘Glockenpop’, he miraculously managed to play the glockenspiel, acoustic guitar and drums simultaneously. It was their first, definitive live version of the song. The warmth of the audience, though, was truly directed towards Janet, who was visibly emotional as the tour wound to an end, as she wiped tears from her eyes and thanked the crowd for allowing her to live her dream. There was a tangible but unspoken “farewell” tour vibe to the show.
Prior to Spiderbait, young rockers Molly Rocket burned through The Pixies ‘Debaser’ and originals channelling their Sonic Youth and Nirvana influences like ‘Methany’. Front woman Georgie Evans has star quality, while Ella Phillips dazzles on the lead guitar. They are a band to watch, and, like Spiderbait, alternate between male and female lead vocals.
Fans will now wait with baited breath to see whether a new Spiderbait album will follow this year’s single release.
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