The Bar On The Hill at Newcastle University was a sell out - and those who fronted up with a view to purchase tickets on arrival faced disappointment. Unfortunately I missed all but the last song of Betchadupa, but from what I did see, this band can deliver the goods with an abundance of energy - I look forward to seeing more from them in the near future.

Pollyanna was the band to secure the main support slot for the Jebediah tour. Their finely polished power pop set was indicative of the solidity & unity that comes with years of live performance experience, making Pollyanna the true veterans of the Australian music scene.

The older, more defining Pollyanna tracks Brittle Then Broken and Cinnamon Lip were received most favourably from what appeared to be an indifferent audience. It appeared obvious that the majority of people in attendance were eagerly awaiting Jebediah's arrival to the stage.

Pollyanna's setlist: Feeding Circle, Elevators, Office Relations, Rebound Girl, Particular People, Messed Up, Hermit Inertia, Brittle Then Broken, Keep Me Guessing, Cinnamon Lip, Firesale.

Jebediah hit the stage and launched into a track off their new self titled CD NDC. The crowd vitalised immediately upon their arrival and set the tone of a somewhat raucous mood. It wasn't long before the Bar On The Hill was more like the Sauna On The Hill. Fortunately the crowd surfing was kept to a bare minimum, thanks to the "You're Up & You're Out" instructions offered by security.

Kevin addressed the fervent Newcastle crowd with "It's good to be here, let me tell you! We've played some strange places the last few nights, so it's nice to see a room full of ahh - Nice people". The band then launched into a rocking version of Military Strongmen, followed by another new track Yesterday When I Was Brave.

Jebediah have come a long way in the last few years, and on this very night, Triple J was playing homage to the Jebs with a three hour J-File. It was therefore fitting that Monument, an older rarity from the Jebediah back catalogue, received a run on this evening. Kevin introduced the song by saying "We're gonna play an older song now for people that, kind of, bought any of the old singles". Chirs then cut in and commented "This is about 6 years old. Actually there is a J-Files happening right now on us, so they'd probably hope we'd play this one."

Harpoon was the evening's big sing-a-long song, and we were treated at the end of the song to Kevin playing the introduction of Eric Clapton's Tear's In Heaven - a fine appendage to what is obviously one of Jebediah's most popular tracks.

The energy that Jebediah exert into live performances is nothing short of spectacular - I'm sure we will continue to enjoy performances of this distinction for many years to come. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Jebediah Setlist: NDC, Nothing Lasts Forever, Military Strongmen, Yesterday When I Was Brave, If You Want It, Animal, Monument, Leaving Home, No. #1, Please Leave, Eveready, Teflon, Harpoon, Fall Down.
Encore: Benedict, Did You Really?,Jerks Of Attention.


Review by Paul Stipack
All photo's © Brendan Worth