Just after 5:30pm yesterday, Bernard Fanning noted to his Splendour in the Grass crowd that it had been 10 years since his former band, a little known Powderfinger, had played the event, so why the hell not, let’s get a reunion happening.
Now, for many Australian music fans, the ‘Finger will have had some kind of presence in their childhoods, adolescence and adulthoods up until the band’s official break up in 2010. Their farewell tour around the country blew out into one of their largest and left a nation of emotional fans in its wake. Put all of this together with the band’s – to this point – fairly adamant stance that they wouldn’t be pulling a John Farnham at any point in the future in getting back together, the concept of the Brisbane legends’ being seen back on stage together was quite dim.
Until now, anyway. Sure, they were missing drummer Jon Coghill, but the rest of the band came together for a two song trip down memory lane, doling out “On My Mind (Baby I’ve Got You)” and the anthemic sing along in “These Days”. The crowd packed out for the slice of Australian nostalgia, proving to be a highlight of Splendour even though the festival was only just passed its midway point, many noting on social media afterward that it was likely that the festival wouldn’t be able to provide many other moments to top it.
While the book closes again (it would seem) on Powderfinger, the story clearly continues for the band in their other creative ventures, Fanning and Darren Middleton in particular, both out on the road and in studio making solo records of their own.
A great little gift for fans and a great show of goodwill from a band whose spot in the fabric of Australian rock music remains beloved as ever, going by this mini-reunion.
Photos by Andrew Wade.
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