Live Review: Jet, The Living End

Day two of the Supercars Superloop Adelaide 500 after-race concerts saw crowd numbers slightly lower than the night before, possibly because of the day’s oppressive heat, but also due to a line-up that didn’t quite have the broader appeal of newcomers Amy Shark and Vance Joy.

Nonetheless, it was great to see The Living End playing on a big stage with a huge sound system behind them. Opening with unfamiliar material in the form of new track Don’t Lose It, the trio took a while to get the crowd revved up. Singer Chris Cheney tried in vain during Second Solution to get audience participation happening (“You don’t need prompting… Ok, maybe you do”), perhaps realising that fans were still sizzling from a day of baking in 40-plus degree heat.

Cheney did not give up and soon won the crowd over, with songs such as Roll On and Uncle Harry (Pissing In The Bath) getting us singing along, and All Torn Down dazzling with a blistering guitar solo. Drummer Andy Strachan was given a warm welcome back to his hometown and Scott Owen surfed his double bass in trademark fashion on several occasions. “This is not the City Of Churches, this is the City Of Rock'n'Roll,” Cheney proclaimed when he finally tamed the crowd. The finale, Prisoner Of Society, sealed the deal.

As a headline act, Jet was a safe choice, but tonight they lacked the charisma that The Living End had delivered in spades. Instead, Jet’s strength lay in the chunky chords that made the band a household name. Hearing all their hits again after so long made us realise how heavily influenced the group has been by music of the 1960s and 1970s (digging deeply into the songbooks of Badfinger and The Rolling Stones).

Singer Nic Cester looked resplendent in full beard and white jacket, although the latter was quickly jettisoned given the high temperature. Surprisingly, their expected finale of Are You Gonna Be My Girl arrived a few songs early, meaning a few in the crowd took the opportunity to sneak out early. Mostly, however, the crowd loved every minute.