Jet And The Vines Brought Controlled Chaos And Bucketloads Of Nostalgia To Sydney

This week, two iconic Australian rock bands — Jet and The Vines — reunited for a pair of shows in Sydney. The gigs were part of Jet’s ‘Get Re-Born’ anniversary tour, celebrating 15 years (!) since the release of the album that made them a household name, and marked the first time the original Vines line-up have played together since they split back in 2004. DAVID JAMES YOUNG was at the Metro to report on this most momentous of shows.

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When The Vines first exploded in 2002 – quite literally, as the ‘Get Free’ video attests to — I was glued to my television watching the ARIAs.

They won the award for Breakthrough Single with the aforementioned ‘Get Free’, but they were not present to collect the award. Instead, a hype package was shown that subsequently blew my 12-year-old mind.

For Christmas that year, all I wanted was a copy of Highly Evolved. From December 25 onwards, I listened to it weekly — sometimes daily. The Vines ended up being a huge part of my life, and I can distinctly remember moments in my life intertwined with their story. When The Vines imploded in mid-2004, I read about it via a triple j newsletter on the library computers at school and sunk into my chair.

Not long after Craig Nicholls was publicly diagnosed with Asperger’s, I was coming to terms with the very same thing. In my final year at uni, The Vines played there and I got to tell Nicholls after the show what it meant to me to have an Autistic person in music visible out there, and how knowing about his struggles made me feel less alone.

Tonight, The Vines are playing with their classic line-up — the one that toured Highly Evolved and made 2004’s Winning Days. It’s the first time guitarist Ryan Griffiths and Hamish Rosser have played in the band for almost seven years, but — more importantly — it’s the first time bassist Patrick Matthews has played in The Vines for just over 14 years, following an infamous show at the Annandale. (Before them on tonight’s bill were A. Swayze and The Ghosts, whose propulsive, cathartic garage rock will undoubtedly see them return to headline this very room before too long.)

For me, seeing Nicholls and Matthews on-stage together is my Axl & Slash moment — it’s something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime, and the rush of seeing them kick into ‘Outtathaway!’ as if nothing had changed gives me goosebumps.

Nicholls — last seen on stage with The Killers a month prior – is rough around the edges and typically loose, but it never feels as though it’s going to fall apart. The danger isn’t there as much, and for once that’s actually a good thing. From the tenderness of ‘Homesick’ to the high-octane ‘Ride’, the band faithfully rework tracks from their first two albums to a welcoming reception.

“On the verge of its 16th birthday, ‘Get Free’ is still one of the most vital slices of Australian rock music released this century.”

Some casual attendees probably aren’t even aware of the significance of this show — not that it matters once ‘Get Free’ kicks in. On the verge of its 16th birthday, it’s still one of the most vital slices of Australian rock music released this century. It feels like 2002 all over again, but there’s no fighting and no trashing of the stage tonight. The chaos is controlled, and The Vines live to see another day.

That’s the big story of tonight, but let’s not overshadow Jet just yet. After all, they’re playing Get Born in its entirety tonight — a seminal debut that came not long after Highly Evolved and holds a similar sentimental place of nostalgia to this day. This is also a night of happy returns for the Melbourne band — although they performed a string of shows in early 2017, this is their first full-scale tour since 2009.

They still hold the same leather-jacket cool that they did 15 years prior, and the lion’s share of these songs — which are played sequentially as per the album tracklist — still hold up considerably well. After a rollicking ‘Last Chance’, we’re presented with what is ostensibly the Mount Rushmore of Jet songs: ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’, ‘Rollover DJ’, ‘Look What You’ve Done’ and ‘Get What You Need’.

It’s a massive Side A, to the point of it being almost exhausting — these are all normally songs that would roll out towards the end of a Jet show, not played back-to-back up top. Such was the nature of the top-heavy album beast, however — and, besides, performing the album this way gives one a greater appreciation of its peaks and valleys.

The back end is reserved for some of the band’s most underrated songs — the Stones-leaning ballad ‘Come Around Again’, the rambunctious ‘Take It or Leave It’ and seldom-played closer ‘Timothy’.

The latter in particular serves as one of the highlights of the entire performance — written by drummer Chris Cester in tribute to guitarist Cameron Muncey’s late brother, there’s a depth and sincerity that goes way beyond the band’s usual forte of ‘YEAH!’ and ‘C’MON!’ Watching Get Born played out in the live environment allows one to properly appreciate the record, not just for the sum of its parts but the little moments as well.

Around this time of the night, one would expect the band to simply walk off stage and perhaps return for a two or three-song encore. Instead, we’re given an additional seven songs plus a two-song encore, taken from the band’s other two albums Shine On and Shaka Rock.

While clearly well-intentioned in wanting to give fan’s their money’s worth, it’s one of the sole missteps of the evening. The move backfires by bloating out the performance unnecessarily, reaching for songs that not even a die-hard would be asking for. Put it this way: no-one’s walking out of a Jet gig in a huff because they didn’t play ‘Walk’ or ‘Black Hearts (On Fire)’.

That restlessness plays into the encore too, in which Nic Cester attempts a solo acoustic version of ‘Shine On’ only to have the crowd more interested in ironically crowd-surfing than they are in the tender ballad about the Cester’s late father. A shame, but oh well — the twisting, shouting ‘Rip It Up’ is here to save the day and ensure everyone walks out with a smile on their face.

A night of ‘Get Free’ and Get Born has been well and truly got.

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David James Young is a writer, podcaster, proud Aspie and a 2000s rock tragic. Tweet him your favourite Vines song: @DJYwrites.

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Photo Credit: Charlie Hardy via Jet Facebook