Powderfinger - Sunsets tour

First published on 9 Apr 2010. Updated on 5 Apr 2011.

Review: After 21 years the big men of Australian rock are calling it a day, farewelling their legion of fans with a multi-stop tour to bow out on. In Sydney they packed out the Entertainment Centre in a show that held many a treat for the fans. Diffident front man Bernard Fanning is not much on the old banter, but a simple "Sydney, you're killing it!" sufficed to make the audience explode: such was the atmosphere of the evening.

Big Heavy Stuff and Jet supported, with Big Heavy Stuff unfortunately receiving minimal attendance (such is the curse of being the first band, however awesome). Jet played a mix of songs from their upcoming album and favourites like 'Cold Hard Bitch', 'Look What You've Done' and 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl', ending their set on 'Rip It Up'.

But the fans only had eyes for Bernard and the boys. Starting with ‘Love Your Way', they have as much energy for the music as ever, getting really stuck in with favourites like ‘Sunsets', ‘Lost and Running' and ‘My Happiness'. During the first hour or so, unbeknownst to the mosh, a small stage was being assembled and equipped with a drum kit - the band left the stage for what looked like a short interval while some retro footage played – only to reappear behind the crowd, right in the middle of the "enormodrome" (as Fanning so aptly described it). There they played two numbers, including an extended version of ‘Stumblin'', in which drummer John Coghill was left on stage like a king on a percussion throne, bashing out a manic drum solo, soon to be joined by the rest of the 'Finger, minus Fanning for a jam. Fanning meanwhile was making his way back to the main stage for a solo acoustic version of 'Nobody Sees'. 'Save Your Skin' was sung by guitarist Darren Middleton (do we perhaps smell the hint of an imminent solo turn?). 'Passenger' was unfortunately marred by some feedback issues, which reappeared a little later in the encores. Not that this could dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, who despite being rabid for the final fix of the 'Finger, were very orderly.

They made the audience work really hard for the two encores they gave, dedicating a song to the most loyal (or insane) fans who Fanning recognised from previous ten concerts around the country. Fanning also gave a nod to their humble beginnings, describing the band's first tour to Sydney to play at the Forest Lodge Hotel, sleeping on couches in Alice St, Newtown. You wonder if they dreamed then of the kind of the adulation of thousands in the country's largest venues. Vivienne Egan