The Olympia
Australia had a well-kept secret. A spontaneous ex-pat reunion awaited the first date of Powderfinger's European tour. As assured Aussies colonised the venue, the Olympia soon hummed with the relaxed expectation of the Oznoscenti. With four albums under their belts, Powdah-fingah is an extremely fine-tuned outfit. The guitar-heavy five-piece delivered each song with unshowy sensitivity, whether hammering out grunge riffs or slow-burning melodies - often during the same song. Enveloped by swirling lights and twirling video projections, lead singer Bernard Fanning squinted through the searing build of set-opener My Kind of Scene, while the crowd matched him word for word.
As Up & Down & Back Again, and the aptly-named Belter rattled the rafters, Pearl Jam comparisons were inevitable. The slacker associations weren't hindered, either, by tangled shoulder-length hair and a conspiracy to play their instruments at about kneeheight. But while much of the material came straight out of the Seattle stable, the Brisbane boys' real strength lies in their unaffected emotive power. A masterful performance of These Days entwined Fanning's brittle voice with delicate vibrato guitar, and grew into an exquisite power-ballad chorus. Powderfinger, however, kept a few more explosions up their long-sleeved T-shirts. We Should Be Together Now was a no-nonsense rock affair of guttural shrieks and Darren Middleton's piercing, effect-soaked guitar. The approving crowd were fired up and bounded to the beat. This group's musical diversity, confident performance and arresting spectacle heralded a stadium rock act just waiting to happen.
The latter half of the gig was an unmitigated pleasure. The big Cream-influenced riff of Like a Dog, the spirited singalong of My Happiness and the euphoric eruption of Passenger left loyal fans satiated and the uninitiated woozy with admiration. Already big Down Under, internationally it's time for Powderfinger to shoot to the top. Fair dinkum.
