The Getaway Plan @ FowlersLive, Adelaide (02/12/11)

Thu 8th Dec, 2011 in Gig Reviews

For any ordinary band, this album tour would have been a regular affair. Yet anyone unaware of The Getaway Plan’s intermission between first and second album releases may not fathom the scale of this return to the stage. Having gained major success with debut long-player ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’ in 2008, the Melbourne 4-piece toured the life out of it, then decided their hearts were no longer in the project and split to work on other projects. When asked to reform for a Melbourne festival last year, a regained element of passion resulted in the guys getting the band back together for good. A tour earlier this year only reaffirmed their ability on the live circuit, and with new album ‘Requiem’ in tow, The Getaway Plan are sounding more definitive than ever. So it was always going to be an enlightening experience hearing some fresh material performed live at one of the band’s more favoured venues here in Adelaide, Fowlers Live.

After a warm introduction to the evening from Adelaide group Nazarite Vow, Melbourne-via-New Zealand act Gatherer provided a consistently intriguing support slot in front of a less than participatory crowd. With a sound completely distant from tonight’s headliners, the band is probably best compared with The Mars Volta, though flourishes of hardcore mixed with 70s progressive sounds highlight their more focused moments. The mix at times made it hard for the more technical aspects of each instrument to shine, but when it fell perfectly the band’s musicianship was certainly impressive to see and hear. It feels like an album from these guys would warrant their full potential to create songs that pitch and shift in so many different directions, allowing for a more drawn-out but ultimately fulfilling experience. Hopefully this, along with more shows, is something to look forward to from the Kiwi natives.

The area began to fill out as Break Even took to the stage with an immense level of enthusiasm and energy, something the show had lacked until now. Frontman Mark Bawden managed to get the front couple of rows clapping along and enjoying themselves, but it was clear who everyone was hanging to see on the night. Perhaps the mix of acts on the bill was mildly unsettling on the whole, but as heavy as Break Even was amongst their counterparts, their sound is still something to behold. The open guitar sounds of Stephen Sciutto and low-end bass of Perri Basille provide the basis for the Western Australian hardcore act. It creates a very barren soundscape to build on, and something that Bawden does consistently well as a vocalist. The set was largely filled with tracks from 2009 release ‘The Bright Side’, though new track Hells Gates offered a refreshing look into the new material ahead. The song is uplifting, catchy, and filled with all the elements that have made Break Even so successful in their field to date. Another fantastic choice for support on the night.

The return of The Getaway Plan to the Adelaide stage was an emphatic one, as the opening lines of The Reckoning began to ring out through the venue. It seemed as though the band wanted to get the track out of the way early while Matthew Wright was still fresh and able to hit the high notes during the song’s chorus. This song, along with following album track Phantoms, immediately demonstrated the direction of second album ‘Requiem’. It is forthright in its approach and conducive to a live setting, something hard to better having set the bar high with their debut LP three years ago. One thing that provides a point of difference between the older and newer material is the passion which now shows through in each performance; the emphasis of Clint Ellis’ guitar, the power in Aaron Barnett’s drumming, and the emotion displayed in Wright’s vocal depicted a band really into what they’re doing, a far cry from the reasons behind their initial disposition two years back.

There was a nice splattering of older material performed for the diehards, with Streetlight, New Medicine and Shadows providing the audience with plenty of opportunities to sing along. Likewise, the group ran through nearly all the tracks which comprise ‘Requiem’, the highlight of many being Wright’s arrival on second guitar allowing the songs to fill out to their maximum potential. It’s clear to hear in tracks like Move Along, Flying Colours and Heartstone that the songwriting is far more focused on structure these days, an aspect that only adds to the overall Getaway Plan experience. The latter, along with S.T.A.R.S., which were originally recorded with boys and girls choirs in their U.S. production sessions, were fulfilled by backing tracks, as Ellis’ guitar wailed and echoed along in the outro to great effect. The highlight of the night was Coming Home, which Wright dedicated to the audience, and in such a context it just felt like a euphoric summation of what the band has achieved with this comeback, especially ringing true as Wright sings the chorus line “I can’t believe I’m coming home”.

The two song encore of Where The City Meets The Sea and the title track to ‘Requiem’ proved a grandiose affair. Requiem itself is such a dynamic song, like various jigsaw pieces seamlessly joining together to create what can loosely be described as an epic piece of music, culminating in Wright leaping into the crowd and screaming the final lines to a brilliant hour and a bit of anthemic music. Requiems are often performed in commemoration of something or someone who has died. Yet The Getaway Plan have, with their ‘Requiem’, done the opposite in the grander scheme of things, reviving themselves from the dead and completing a successful comeback to the music scene. Please don’t go away again, guys.