“How you doin’? You alright?” asks an out of breath Gaz Coombes during their first Brisbane show in several years. The assembled punters shout back “yeah!”, hoping that the next song will be the golden goose turned albatross hit “Alright”. It isn’t, but no one is really displeased when it turns out to be another heavy Stonesy rif-a-thon taken from their sixth and latest album Diamond Hoo Ha Man.

Indeed “Alright” does not get an airing during the night but plenty of other euphoric, sing-a-long anthems do, and utilising the strategy of playing a set split equally between news songs and greatest hits is a smart one. Tracks from the current ’70s love-fest make perfect sense slotted next to classics such as the infectious, if vaguely disturbing “Mary”, the three minutes of unbridled passion that is “Strange Ones” and the feelgood epic “Sun Hits the Sky”. Looking band on stage and it’s then you realise the advantages of starting out a band in your teens — as after nearly 15 years Coombes and co(co) are only in their early 30s. Of course they their skin is pasty, as all good Brit musos are, and the huge handle bar moustache that Gaz sports is frankly, a bit ridiculous, although it’s sure to stand him in good stead if Grinderman ever need a new frontman. Gaz’s brothers Charly and Rob help out on rthym guitar/perscussion and keyboards respectively (nepotism is ruining rock – discuss) but the heavy lifting is left to Coombes senior, Goffey and McQuinn who are more than happy to shoulder the workload.

The one-two punch of “Strange Ones”/”Caught by the Fuzz” transports the 20-30 somethings in the crowd back to a time when Britpop ruled the airwaves, everyone wore a pair of Adidas gazelles and Damon Albarn still had hair. The disappointing mid career blues of Life on Other Planets and Road to Rouen are largely ignored making way for more crowd pleasing numbers, which do exactly that. At the end of the night the players and the punters are beaming ear to ear smiles both glad they made the effort.

Set
Diamond Hoo Ha Man
Bad Blood
She’s So Loose
Mary
Ghost of a Friend
Late in the Day
Rebel in You
345
Richard III
Moving
Outside
St Petersburg
Strange Ones
Caught by the Fuzz
Pumpin’ on the Stereo
——————————————–
Sun Hits the Sky
Next to You (The Police Cover)
Lenny