Live Review: The Living End, Something For Kate

The Living End

Having released one of the finest Australian records of the year just two months ago, Something For Kate isn't so much a support act but a double headliner. Playing tracks that span their career, including most recent album Leave Your Soul To Science, it's baffling as to why the trio hasn't experienced even half the success of the main act. Monsters, Déjà Vu, Cigarettes And Suitcases and a cheeky cover of The Clash's Rock The Casbah are highlights, but the best is saved for last with their single of 1999 Electricity, rounding off a stellar set.

At the time of release, The Living End's Modern ARTillery was met with a lukewarm response. Rolling Stone gave it a safe three-stars, it entered the charts lower than their previous albums and many fans and media alike slept on the record. The band looked back on the recording process with a sense of negativity. It came after Chris Cheney's life-threatening car accident, was their first with a new line-up, and as the years passed by, got lost amongst their six-album deep discography. But with time comes clarity and benefiting from its start to finish performance tonight, Modern ARTillery, to this day, stands as the band's strongest release.

At just under 90 seconds, What Would You Do? begins the album and set, one of the rare tracks written by double bass player Scott Owen. Subtly wearing a Mr Cassidy shirt, his Byron Bay-based bluegrass project, it's surprising he doesn't have more writing credits to his name. Followed by Tabloid Magazine, a song, in the wake of recent News Of The World and 2Day FM scandals, that seems as relevant today as the day it was written. Who's Gonna Save Us follows, the first single from the album and Chris Cheney at his questioning socio-political best. A song that infiltrated the US charts and was used in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 documentary, it's punchy and to the point.

Tonight Cheney is in fine form. He dedicates End Of The World to the Mayan calendar, there's a brief cover of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday and the greatest glimpse into the writing process of the album and events leading up to its release when he introduces Rising Up From The Ashes as a song about “bouncing back after a tough tough time.”  Cheney, and the entire band for that matter, are forever grateful to the fans. “The previous record of the Corner was five shows,” he gleams. They haven't just eclipsed the record, jointly held by Megan Washington and Matt Corby in 2010 and 2012 respectively, they've smashed it.

Firmly incrusted in Australian music history, The Living End is part of so many people's memories, musical or otherwise. Subconsciously their songs, particularly the big singles, are ingrained in distant, disused parts of so many brains. When triggered tonight, every chorus, every word and every call and response chant comes racing back. It's nostalgic, slightly embarrassing, but special.