Reviewed: Jebediah @ The Annandale

It was meant to be a spring night in Sydney, but on Friday all evidence suggested that it could have been winter as it was grey, miserable and raining. But in spite of this, a sold-out crowd descended upon the Annandale to see Jebediah.

The night began with The Adventure, who played to a sizeable crowd – although this may have had something to do with things like dry shelter and the NRL playing on the pub’s televisions. The quartet offered energetic rock music and what distinguished them from many other young bands was the noteworthy riffs by lead guitarist, Reece Turbin. The tunings and effects were different, providing inimitable sounds like a cross between Nick Valensi of The Strokes’ fame, U2’s The Edge and the ocean.

Unfortunately these great riffs peaked with the second track, which was a good trip despite foretelling an apparent apocalypse. The following song contained a riff similar to the one found in Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” This was followed by bass player, Dave Rogers throwing CDs at the audience- many of whom had started nodding along to the music, while taking care not to spill their beers. Now, say what you will about iPods, digital music and the like, but none of these compare to the good ol’fashioned method of throwing your wares at people in an attempt to get it out to the masses.

The short set climaxed in a haze of smoke and bright lights with Rogers losing his bass and playing along with drummer, Alexander Davies. Even Turbin couldn’t resist joining in the antics, as he also hit a drum cymbal at the end.

The crowd grew a little larger – and loud talking and the football ensued – as a few bum notes emanated from behind the screen where Parades were setting up. As the five-piece began, the air in the room shifted, becoming heavy as the atmospheric music began. Singer Bec Shave was centre stage with a bunch of guys and this combination made me initially think of Blondie, but the weird opening track soon halted this.

The music contained many eclectic bits and bobs, but often felt bloated as the songs dragged on. They occasionally played them one after the other, blurring the lines between the start and the finish. If the songs were a bit tighter, they would have received a far better reception because while some people were appreciative, others talked and watched the footy.

Like the earlier act, they used some high-pitched guitar solos but this time they resembled Gyroscope’s 'Snakeskin'. In other tracks there were sounds like intergalactic UFOs buzzing and frequencies jumping around. What is strange is that although these extra layers initially shed light on a fresh musical aspect, after a while they became repetitive. The forty-minute set – which in fact, felt longer – also culminated in a dual drumming contest.

Now that the supports were finished, the night was solely about the headliners, Jebediah. The Annandale was full – so crowded that at least four photographers had to resort to standing on the bar to get their shots throughout the show – and the televisions were turned off.

Jebediah had come full circle. It had been three years since they last performed in Sydney – in this very venue – for their tenth anniversary shows. Singer/guitarist Kevin Mitchell (also known as Bob Evans) opened the proceedings by declaring, “Alright, let’s rock!” 'N.D.C' was the first track and it saw Mitchell doing half guitar windmills, while the audience bounced around and threw their arms up in the air during the lyric: “Give it up for rock and roll!”

The following song, 'Feet Touch The Ground' was a crowd favourite, particularly for the moshers down the front. After such a warm response from the crowd, Mitchell claimed that “this feels really, f**king good.” And he wasn’t wrong, as his band mates mirrored his enjoyment on stage. Bass player Vanessa Thornton in particular, seemed pleased, as she had a fan club down the front of the pit, watching her every move- pointing the bass in the air, swinging it and dicing up the notes. She reciprocated the fans’ adoration by laughing and giving them high fives.

A new song followed, and while the crowd weren’t as frenzied – like in the previous and much loved, older tracks – Jebediah all played with as much passion and fervour as they did before and this enthusiasm continued throughout the set. They clearly were having a ball; or if not, they are four really great actors.

'It’s Over' (from their ambivalently-received album, Braxton Hicks) was acknowledged with indifference from some of the crowd. I wondered if many people had even heard the song because it became apparent over the course of the night that most people were only familiar with their first two albums and the singles from their third record.

However, 'Animal' was a completely different story, with the crowd yelling in ecstasy and appreciation as it started, and singing and dancing throughout it.  Meanwhile, “Please Leave” and an interesting new song with some great time changes were also well received.

Kevin mused about the band missing things during their absence from the scene. He admitted that they took a holiday during emo and everybody laughed. This quip nicely lulled the crowd into 'Harpoon' and everyone sang all the words, despite the tough subject matter. Kevin lightened things up by noting that the track was “made famous by Something For Kate - god bless em.”

'No Sleep' was followed by a really strange, new track. The group sounded like a marching band doing a nursery rhyme, while Mitchell sounded like an old, round man going “Glump, glump.” Weird.

Thankfully, 'Fall Down' got everyone up and dancing again, as the band began taking song requests. 'Teflon' provided another giant sing-along, while Kevin decided to partially rap the final verse. When the song finished, Mitchell played some heavily distorted guitar, which segued into 'Eye Of The Tiger'. There were some disappointed fans when this ultimately fell over after a few chords, but they were soon rewarded with 'Star Machine' where Kevin got up close to the audience. The ‘final’ song was 'Jerks Of Attention', which sounded off at the start - almost as if part of the band were playing a different song to the others. They soon recovered and the band bounced around with Vanessa and guitarist, Chris Daymond, lulling about on the floor and then springing up into the air like jack-in-the-boxes.

The audience was left in a wall of reverb before the band came back on stage for an encore. Kevin gushed about being grateful to see a full room, as they felt being absent for so long would have left them forgotten in the public’s conscious. Kevin added, “We hope we’ve made it worthwhile” and immediately began playing, 'Leaving Home'. With the crowd’s appetite for the old hits sated, more requests followed for lesser-known tracks, 'Monument' and 'Benedict'.

The last song of the evening was 'Invaders'. Two fans joined the band on stage and helped whip the whole crowd into one last sing-along. The band may be a little older, but they still continue to have the same energy and exuberance they did when they first started out, over ten years ago. As the song drew to a close, the two audience members hopped back into the crowd, while the band reprised the final part of the song.

Although Daymond, Thornton and Brett Mitchell (drums) were quick to vacate the stage, Kevin Mitchell found himself playing solo guitar on the Annandale’s bar – the same place the photographers had been assembled earlier. He brought the final notes home to the delighted crowd.

The night was over- we had laughed, sung and danced around. The band is an underrated act as there is honestly no band in this country that can execute such excellent indie-rock songs with such keenness, while remaining so entertaining and funny. Jebediah are the full package and are a somewhat-forgotten gift in Australian music; but to those assembled, we all know we had an absolute ball.