Antiskeptic @ The Bridge,Dural (13/09/08)

Wed 17th Sep, 2008 in Gig Reviews

It is a sad sight watching a band you have been following faithfully over the last nine years call it quits. Antiskeptic said Goodbye, Goodnight to Sydney and New South Wales on Saturday for the last time, playing The Bridge at Dural. Yes, Dural. I was rather surprised at the choice of venue, considering how far out of the way it is and the fact that even I had not heard of it.

However, location was not an issue, nor has it been over the last decade as Antiskeptic have never failed to disappoint me. Whether on the long trek to the Blackstump Music Festival or to the small and crowded inner city venues of Sydney, Antiskeptic have always put on a great show.

After a long changeover, the Melbourne trio finally took the stage after a very loud chant of “ANTI-SKEP-TIC” ripped through the venue, with a blistering performance of Nothing To Say. Bassist Sean Daly was clearly going to make the most of the farewell show, and rocked harder than I had seen him in a long time, launching into jumps and some serious on-stage rockery from the get go. Drummer Nick Coppin was also very happy to be playing in Sydney again and spent most of the first few tracks with a large grin on his face, looking like someone enjoying his first live gig rather than someone about to pull the plug.

Hello Helo from their last studio recording Monuments followed after a blistering intro, and it must be said that the way Antiskeptic elaborated and expanded on their songs was exceptional. Despite playing songs from as early as their 1999 days, the songs sounded fresh, with the band more than happy to play around a little to mix things up for the last time.

It was a set of the usual Antiskeptic standards. Change My Ways, Called, Teach Him Well, As Yet Untitled, 60% Intentional and Tears Simone from the band’s debut album Memoirs of a Common Man all got great responses from the audience. Clear to Pass, Goodbye, Goodnight, More Than Kind and Road & Travel (that last one in particular I was especially happy about!) from the album Aurora were also well-placed within the set. The crowd didn’t need much encouragement to sing-along to Beautiful In White, which seemed to greatly impress the band. Crowd favourite Jimmy Was Always Thinking also made an appearance in the set.

The usual encore ended the show, but not before a rather beautiful montage was placed on two large screens above the stage. Over the song Breath Into, photos of the band members – candid, professional or live – were played on the big screens. It was quite a touching moment for all the old-school fans, myself included, seeing photos from as early as 1999 as well as some never-before-seen shots. The band came back to the stage for the last song they ever recorded, which was done just for the farewell tour, I’ll Follow. The song is not a bad piece of work either, and only makes you wonder what Antiskeptic could have done if they were to play on. The experimentation and quality found on I’ll Follow and the Monuments EP was such a creative and fresh new direction that will sadly never fully be fully explored.

The band then played their final number Reflections Perceptions; a song I had actually never heard performed live in all the 10-odd – œSkeptic’ shows I’ve seen. And what a special moment that was, and a very poignant way to end the night. The trio then stood at the front of stage, arms around each other, to bow one last time. It was a momentous occasion.