Live Review: BIGSOUND Live: The Church

As The Church frontman Steve Kilbey introduces his bandmates, it's immediately apparent - if you are one of the few people crammed into the Zoo who doesn't already know - why the nationally treasured rock veterans have remained a vital and relevant force in Australian music for more than thirty years.

Firstly, Kilbey is all charm - in his banter with/at the crowd, towards his bandmates... and his deep, hypnotic vocals, his body language, and pretty much everything he does oozes a sense of confident, world-weary cool that probably makes some of the ankle-biters in the crowd fucking wish they were his age.

The same can be said for consistently watchable drummer Tim Powles, who injects a touch of maraca into the mix for one song, holding it in his right hand without relinquishing the drumstick, as well as long-time stringsmith Peter Koppes. New guitarist Ian Haug, too, is a man in his element, slotting in seamlessly to the line-up, with his comparative lack of greying hairs the only indication that he's a more recent addition to proceedings.

The show tonight is something of an album preview for the band's forthcoming 25th studio full-length, and as such we're treated to a ream of fresh classics, including early highlight Delirious, which stands out for its punky chorus and unexpected, deliciously off-centre chord changes, while Miami also flies high among the handful of songs delivered tonight. If anything can be taken away from the vets' triumphant closing appearance here at BIGSOUND tonight, it's that existing fans have nothing to worry about, and the people who just got on board - and, inarguably, there was at least one convert there tonight - have everything to get excited about. Bravo.