Vocalist Link Meanie is about to move overseas permanently, leaving the live future of the band in doubt
Seminal Australian punk outfit The Meanies have announced an eight-date national tour for this June and July, peppering in a degree of bittersweetness with the news that it may be the band's last-ever live run.
The Meanies have made an indelible mark on Aussie music history over their near-30 years together as a band but, with vocalist Link Meanie set to relocate overseas permanently in the near future, it's left a live future in doubt for the band as we know them.
That said, they're making themselves broadly available for long-time and newly minted fans alike to get out and give them a hearty send-off(?) on the 'Last Shows Til Who Knows When' tour, with two shows apiece lined up in Melbourne and Sydney before they make their way to Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane (for the recently announced Dead Of Winter Festival) and Townsville.
The gigs are sure to be a pretty emotional affair given the circumstances, as it may very well be the last chance for folks to experience a Meanies show in the flesh, an inimitable experience beloved by so many punk fans around the country over the past several decades, since the band first came together in 1989 before blossoming into the countercultural icons they are today.
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With a career behind them that has spanned five full-lengths, four EPs and a raft of singles, and taken them from the sweatiest of dives to festival stages at events such as Big Day Out, Livid and Push Over — not to mention a few international tours for good measure — one thing's for sure: it's been a hell of a ride and, even if The Meanies do reconvene for some kind of reunion down the road (hey, we can always stay hopeful), this run is bound to be a special and memorable one.
Then again, aren't they all?
Tickets for all shows are available now. For a full rundown of dates, venues and other booking details, see theGuide.