Vic on the Park, Sydney
Sunday October 5, 2014 :
It may have been two years since Craig Nicholls last stepped onto a stage to front the Vines, but given the form of the new-look three piece at their free “comeback” show at the Vic on the Park Hotel in Marrickville this past weekend, you never would have known it had been so long in the making.
The Sydney garage rockers had been noticeably absent from the music scene since 2012, after guitarist, Ryan Griffiths and drummer, Hamish Rosser (who later had a brief stint in Wolfmother) were sacked from the band and bassist, Brad Heald left. Soon after came the much-talked-about Facebook display picture change, seemingly confirming that Nicholls would continue on with the Vines alone, and then charges against Nicholls for allegedly assaulting his parents. 2012 was a pretty shitty year for the band but still, in early 2013, fans were tempted with the promise of new music. If their 2011 album, Future Primitive, was labelled a comeback for the band once hailed at the next Beatles, then Nicholls must be fucking Lazarus.
Needless to say, there was a palpable air of expectation among the punters who’d packed into the car park at the Vic on Sunday afternoon to catch the new line up’s first outing. Nicholls, flanked by new bass player, Tim John and new drummer, Lachlan West, both part of indie-rock four-piece, the Griswolds, kicked off the short but sharp hour-long set with the opening track from their new double album, Wicked Nature, and as the hazy, distorted opening notes of ‘Metal Zone’ rang out and Nicholls began to wail into the mic, you got the sense you were in for something special.
With the bulk of the set comprised of new material, an onslaught of fuzzy garage rock from the heavier disc one of Wicked Nature followed – ‘Out of the Loop’, ‘Green Utopia’ and ‘Anything You Say’ before coming down on the ballady ‘Venus Fly Trap’. While much of the crowd had obviously turned out to hear the hits from the band’s early 2000’s releases, the performance of these later tracks was tack-sharp! The perfect synchronicity of guitar, bass and drums during the rollicking, ‘Green Utopia’ produced smiles both on and off the stage.
But it was, of course, the oldies that gained the biggest response. The ever-popular cover of OutKast’s ‘Ms Jackson’ had the whole crowd singing along and following this up with ‘Get Free’ and ‘Outtathaway’ off their Rob Schnapf produced 2002 debut, Highly Evolved, sent the guys in the moshpit into meltdown.
Capping off the set with an encore that included a rare rendition of ‘Autumn Shade’, Nicholls thanked both his fans and his family for supporting the band’s return to the stage, before promptly trashing said stage in true Vines style – standing on the drum kit, raising his Strat in victory.
This wasn’t just some, Craig Nicholls and the Vines kind of experience, rather the next generation of a perennial act. Despite their baby faces, John and West are consummate musos and well and truly hold their own alongside the band’s seasoned frontman. As the trio slipped off the stage and disappeared across an adjacent car park you were left hoping it wouldn’t be quite so long between drinks for the band from now on.
Reviewer: Amelia Parrott
Photographer: Alistair Rathbone
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