2024-11-23: Sydney, Australia

[Higgs]

Glad the show was as good as it looked on paper. Special band here that we love. I do hope they come back indeed.

[Strat]

Great set. Maybe my favorite on paper.

Was no surrender ed solo ?

[injuddstree]

Best show I've seen personally since Adelaide 2 '06.

I'm without speech.

[Monkey_Driven]

Dissident and Something Special are the only duds on that setlist. So many songs that are not in the regular rotation!

[E.H. Ruddock]

Solid. Way to go out!

[VinylGuy]

Hunger Strike and Alone wow!

Very cool setlist

[AndySlash]

black/we belong together -> alone is pretty heartbreaking.

three plays for tremor christ this tour, the most in like 15 years.

looks like a great tour-ending show for what should probably be considered a pretty good to great tour at this stage in their career.

[Birds in Hell]

Glad the show was as good as it looked on paper. Special band here that we love. I do hope they come back indeed.

Hopefully next time they might consider visiting SA and WA.

[Birds in Hell]

[tragabigzanda]

Killer set!

[swan]

Best setlist I’ve seen in years. Jealous!

[ridleybradout]

Well that was something special. Not just the setlist was the whole vibe of the thing. Right up there with the 2006 Melb shows.

Thanks for posting some vids Spenno and brisjam for your early thoughts as always.

Not sure where to start - it was almost as if the setlist was custom made for me. Feel kind of bad that I got my other white whale (Immortality) and 'Sleep didn't get NAIS.

Some random thoughts while I process what I've just witnessed. So many goosebump/tear-jerking moments.

- Garden opener had a 'Release' vibe to it and had the crowd singing along from the start.
- Brain of J was for the 61st anniversary of JFK's assassination.
- In Hiding was likely thanks to Mark Richards who was there again - he requested it in 2014 so was surprised to get it again. Decent singalong considering how far back from the superfan crowd I was.
- Is it weird that I could pick Tremor Christ was coming from a single guitar note before Ed introduced it? Stoked to get this for the first time.
- React, Respond is genuinely exciting in person - loved it.
- Ed introduced Save You as a dedication to a few different people. Tight version, Jeff shining. Seemed to be in original key, didn't notice any down-tuning at either Syd show. Cool smoky backdrop with Riot Act era colours.
- Given To Fly was again a huge highlight and singalong.
- Ed said they were only playing Hunger Strike because of how well Sydney crowd sang on Thursday. Josh was doing faint background CC vocals - hence the confusion earlier. In Eliason we trust to get the mix right with the crowd who did a great job.
- Immortality . What a song to follow up Hunger Strike. Took the show to another level for me which I wouldn't have thought possible after HS.
- No Surrender was preceeded by a speech about Bruce playing his final show last night in Vancouver which Ed was disappointed he wasn't around for.
- Ed said he was 'made aware' of Vitalogy's 30th - can't play the whole thing but here's two. Really great STBC.
- Something Special was the only lull in the encore but you could tell how much it meant to Ed (though he did need to look down to read lyrics throughout).
- Wasn't surprised to see Black again after how good it was on Thursday.
- Alone was in brackets on the setlist (as was Off He Goes after Surrender). Ed asked if they had time for one more weird one for "the serious collector". Fell a bit flat with the audience, I seemed to be the only one in my area who knew it.
- Ed briefly sang along with Mike's TV Eye tag in Porch (first time ever?).
- Ed introduced Baba by saying this is "kind of how we say goodbye" which I 100% thought was going to be RIFTW so nice to get something different.
- Little Wing was the full song and planned on the setlist. Expected it to go back into Ledbetter at the end like at Melbourne I 2006 but it didn't.

Ed sounded really genuine about coming back in 1-2 years. SUUURELY if a single show on the Gold Coast can be profitable then Adelaide and Perth can too?

I regret not getting a poster or stubby holder for this one. There were some skull posters left when I arrived around 7 but couldn't face the ridiculous merch lines (which were the same again after the show). Australia is becoming more like the US every day!

[Birds in Hell]

Ed introduced Save You as a dedication to a few different people. Tight version, Jeff shining. Seemed to be in original key, didn't notice any down-tuning at either Syd show. Cool smoky backdrop with Riot Act era colours.

Looks like In Hiding, Tremor Christ, Save You and Dissident were tuned down on night 2.

It's funny, it's hard to tell in person sometimes. I was pretty certain Porch was tuned down at Melbourne 2 but it wasn't, it just must've sounded kind of sluggish to me in the moment.

Alone was in brackets on the setlist (as was Off He Goes after Surrender). Ed asked if they had time for one more weird one for "the serious collector". Fell a bit flat with the audience, I seemed to be the only one in my area who knew it.

Wish I’d been there to see that one.

Ed sounded really genuine about coming back in 1-2 years. SUUURELY if a single show on the Gold Coast can be profitable then Adelaide and Perth can too?

Fingers crossed.

[LetMeSleep]

Phenomenal show and night. Many of my faves (TC, BoJ, Immortality) with some tracks I hadn’t had before (Garden, Baba) and then the dream tracks (HS, Alone).

I was on Mike’s side and he had a great show. All of them were super in to it. It felt like a party at the end.

Alone was not very well known around me and was a bit of a mess but still enjoyable.

Of the DM tracks I’ve seen most were pretty strong. I still don’t get Stevie, Running was better live than the shippable studio version, Special is fine enough and I hope it doesn’t become a staple. It was nice to see it though.

Over the 2 shows I got a lot of treats but missed out on Setting Sun and a couple of other DM tracks. NAIS would have been amazing but I got TC, BoJ and Immortality- all top five for me.

[Birds in Hell]

Over the 2 shows I got a lot of treats but missed out on Setting Sun and a couple of other DM tracks. NAIS would have been amazing but I got TC, BoJ and Immortality- all top five for me.

Surprising that both Setting Sun and Upper Hand only got one airing each on the NZ/Aus leg, both got played very frequently earlier in the year.

[LetMeSleep]

Has to be due to the stadium setting. Black on Sydney 1 was the perfect addition at that point over Upper Hand. Not sure encores are the best for new material in a stadium.

7 DMs over 2 shows is decent though. No Gigaton is criminal.

[injuddstree]

I think we could see a parallel with Springsteen's tours here in 2013/14.

It was ten years since he'd last visited Australia (2003 Rising Tour) and whilst the performances were good in 2003, the reception was mixed, shows werent sellouts and another tour was considered somewhat of a risk. Bruce abandoned the Aussie market for a decade. When they announced the 2013 tour it was exciting but met with some trepidation.

In the end it was a massive box office success with great crowds, and they very quickly locked him in for another tour in 2014 and another run in 2017.

I don't think PJ will be back as early as 2025, but it won't be long. If the band are willing, there's no way promoters are turning it down. This tour was a box office and critical success. PJ has the current mix of a nostalgia act for people in a financially comfortable demographic, paired with pretty damn good new music. The perfect promoter's combo.

[brisjam]

Well that was something special. Not just the setlist was the whole vibe of the thing. Right up there with the 2006 Melb shows.

- No Surrender was preceded by a speech about Bruce playing his final show last night in Vancouver which Ed was disappointed he wasn't around for.
- Ed said he was 'made aware' of Vitalogy's 30th - can't play the whole thing but here's two. Really great STBC.
- Something Special was the only lull in the encore but you could tell how much it meant to Ed (though he did need to look down to read lyrics throughout).
- Alone was in brackets on the setlist (as was Off He Goes after Surrender). Ed asked if they had time for one more weird one for "the serious collector". Fell a bit flat with the audience, I seemed to be the only one in my area who knew it.!

Agree with being up there with Melbourne 06 shows.
I think the reference to playing two from Vitalogy was because they couldn't play the other one requested night before - Bugs. Which is a damn shame.
Alone was kind of funny, there seemed to be a group behind and to the side of me that really dug it and sang along loud but many others clearly had no clue.
It was funny to see Ed reading lyrics to Something Special. I like the song myself, corny sure kinda like Daughter by Wainwright. Probably helps I have girls. But now that I've heard it once in concert, I'm not in a rush to hear it again.
I was hoping Ed was going to bring out Growin' Up but No Surrender was still good.

Maybe that Ken Taylor poster will come up for Artist's sale today/tomorrow?
I missed the night 1 poster - then missed the Artist sale as I was at Bondi. Not that I would have bought it at 140 from the artist tbh. Still annoying I missed just that one.

[brisjam]

Over the 2 shows I got a lot of treats but missed out on Setting Sun and a couple of other DM tracks. NAIS would have been amazing but I got TC, BoJ and Immortality- all top five for me.

Surprising that both Setting Sun and Upper Hand only got one airing each on the NZ/Aus leg, both got played very frequently earlier in the year.

Would have loved to have got Upper Hand and completed hearing DM live. Quite like the song on the album.
I really thought we were a lock to get the entire album played across the 5 nights. I saw a lot more shows in 06 granted but got all of avocado in that tour. Might have go them all just in Melbourne 3 nights. Seems like it's a big part of a tour for an album.
I will say I've enjoyed all the new songs live. Running is better live, as is React, Respond. Impressed with how Stevie and Won't Tell sound live - for some reason wasn't convinced they would pull those off.

[Leatherhead]

Is that a really good STBC, or is it just me?