The Living End- Sounds Better Together

The coronavirus pandemic has been catastrophic for the live music industry, with many music venues the first to close and the last to be able to reopen. The Mushroom Group and Victorian Government have partnered for a series of COVID Safe concerts across the state under the banner of Sounds Better Together. Tonight's show that I attended, which only went on sale last week, was The Living End at Forum Melbourne.

It was a bit strange to have seats on the floor of the Forum, but groups of ticket holders were safely spaced from each other. Opening the night was four piece Melbourne punk band Bakers Eddy. They played a very energetic set, with the lead singer taking out his microphone with his guitar during one song. They had people standing up out of their seats by the end of their set.

The Living End tried to begin the evening with "Pictures In The Mirror" but had two false starts as Scott Owen's bass wasn't working. Third time was a charm though and there was some relief from the band when they got through the whole song. The set list covered songs from throughout their extensive catalogue, with old favorites like "Second Solution," "Roll On," "Prisoner Of Society," "All Torn Down" and "White Noise" alongside some deeper album cuts such as "'Til The End," "Bloody Mary," "Hold Up," and "From Here On In." 

 

They also played a couple songs off their latest album Wunderbar with "Wake Up The Vampires" and "Drop The Needle." There was a lot of singing and dancing in the crowd, especially once everyone was standing up about a third of the way through the set. For the encore they played a rousing rendition of "Uncle Harry" to finish the evening. It was a great show full of energy and the usual musical prowess of this fantastic live band. I think everyone leaving the Forum felt their spirits lifted post-lockdown and that our city is coming back to life.

Here's the video for "Otherside"