Live Review: Jet, A Swayze & The Ghosts

2003: the year that Jet stormed into the Aussie rock scene, quickly becoming a household name after delivering hit after hit such as Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Cold Hard Bitch and Rollover DJ.

After dissolving the band in 2012, Jet returned from the shadows in 2016 and are now touring in celebration of Get Born's 15th anniversary. It's Perth's turn to get 'Re-Born'.

Opening act A Swayze & The Ghosts introduced themselves to Perth in spectacular fashion with frontman Andrew Swayze falling over two seconds into the performance. This was not surprising after it became apparent Swayze moves around the stage like Mick Jagger on acid. If you're a fan of west coast garage rock (think Iggy & The Stooges), you will love A Swayze & The Ghosts. The focus is on the attitude and vibe of the music rather than hitting every note perfectly. "I'll tell you what I want", Swayze wailed while licking his lips, intensely staring down different members of the audience, "I want you to give it to me!" Some people were taken aback and confused by what they were witnessing and some were absolutely loving it. Whichever camp you were in, you sure as hell couldn't look away!

The crowd went wild as soon as Jet swaggered onto the stage. The first half of the set was dedicated to playing Get Born from start to finish. Predictably, the aforementioned hits got the biggest responses of the night. However, deep cuts such as the seldom-played Timothy also went down a treat. (Drummer Chris Cester reported that this tour is actually the first time they've played the song live!)

"I don't know about you, but I'm already drunk!" Chris beamed early in the set. This was just the start of some quality banter that occurred throughout the night. A particular highlight was Chris calling out his brother and frontman Nic Cester for writing the next song in the set while "chucking a shit". "That's not true! I did write this while sitting on the toilet, but the seat was down!" Nic retorted before launching into ballad Look What You've Done.

The second half of the set was dedicated to other hits, which served as a reminder of just how many instantly recognisable tunes Jet wrote over three albums. This included songs such as She's A Genius, Seventeen, Black Hearts (On Fire) and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

After the leaving the stage for a few minutes, Nic returned, acoustic guitar in hand, to perform Shine On featuring altered lyrics alluding to his eight-month stay in Perth at the YHA in Northbridge many years ago. The band then returned to finish the night with Rip It Up, which Chris obviously took to heart as he began destroying his drum kit. Bassist Mark Wilson seemed to have had enough of Chris' antics and stormed off the stage! What a rock'n'roll ending to a rock'n'roll night!