Powderfinger Guitarists Reunite For An Unlikely Underground Gig

Powderfinger guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug have reunited in a uniquely Brisbane fashion, with the two performing almost 35 metres below the city’s CBD, where Festival Hall once stood.

Work crews on the Albert Street Underground Station frequently commented on the sound of the acoustics, so why not host a rock show and test out that theory? 

The duo run through the hits - (Baby I've Got You) On My Mind and My Happiness have never sounded so bluesy. Watching the video below, we have some echo and the guitars’ distortion carrying through the cavernous station, which makes for a real rock ‘n’ roll performance.

“With construction progressing well, Albert Street is the last of our open underground caverns, and this was really the last opportunity to try it out,” Cross River Rail Delivery Authority CEO Graeme Newton said.

Middleton and Haug performed their “underground rock set” to perhaps the smallest audience they’ve ever played to, with a small group of workers watching on.

“We wanted to do something that was quintessentially ‘Brisbane’, and it doesn’t get much more ‘Brisbane’ than having two-fifths of Powderfinger shredding hard underground almost directly below where Festival Hall once stood,” Newton continued.

“Powderfinger last played Festival Hall in 2001, so it was a really special moment to be able to host Darren and Ian in such a unique way so close to the site of the iconic venue more than 20 years later.

“We thank Darren and Ian for their time and their generosity in helping out with our experiment, which sounded absolutely incredible.”

Newton concluded, “Performances like this are just one of the many ways we’re raising project awareness and keeping the community informed about ongoing works.”

This June and July, Middleton will accompany his bandmates in ARC (Australian Rock Collective) on an Australian tour and take on one of the most well-known rock albums of all time: The Dark Side Of The Moon.

After performing Dark Side in full, the band will return to the stage and perform a bunch of other Pink Floyd classic tunes. ARC's The Dark Side Of The Moon tour follows their renditions of Neil Young’s Harvest and The Beatles’ Let It Be last year, with the band tackling Abbey Road in 2019 and early 2020.

Meanwhile, Haug performed on the 26th album from The Church, The Hypnogogue, which was released on Friday, 24 February.

The band's vocalist, bassist, and co-founder, Steve Kilbey, said about the album: "The Hypnogogue is the most prog rock thing we have ever done. We've never created a concept album before."

He added, "It is the most teamwork record we have ever had. Everyone in the band is so justifiably proud of this record, and everyone helped to make sure it was as good as it could be. Personally, I think it's in our top three records."