Review: Custard, The Triffid Brisbane, December 12, 2015

REVIEW: They’re a little older, a little paunchier, a little more Keef Richards. But yes, this is still your father’s Custard. Pic: Vaughan Travers/Instagram

“THERE’S a lot of familiar faces out there,” Dave McCormack marvelled at the Triffid audience on Saturday night. “Is that you Augie? It is!”

McCormack is looking a little paunchier, Glenn Thompson a little older, Matt Strong more Keef Richards, and it was past Paul Medew’s bedtime. But yes, these are the parents your parents warned you about, and this is your father’s Custard!

A Brisbane Custard gig is always a special occasion, especially considering they’re fewer and farther between nowadays. And despite the playlist being heavily weighted towards their first album in 15 years, Come Back, All is Forgiven, there were a few pleasant surprises, including Pinball Lez, Singlette and the classic Bedford.

McCormack is still playing swapsies with secondary singer-songwriter Thompson, and would have felt like Ringo as he manned the skins for Thompson’s three-song stint as frontman: Warren Rd, Contemporary Art and Music is Crap.

During another new song, 1990’s (rife with Spring Hill and even Toowoomba references), McCormack asked the sound guy for some Fleetwood Mac Rumours-style effects for the guitar outro: “Throw the shop at it! And if you don’t have any of that stuff, just turn it up.”

If You Would LikeTo was sub-minute power pop in the vein of The Golden Age of Nicotine, and there was Queensland University, with its swipe at The Voice and Rikki-Lee Coulter, that is actually a retread of an old Dave McCormack and the Polaroids tune.

After fluffing the ABBA guitar outro on Anatomically Correct, McCormack said: “You know it’s us, right?

“Matthew and I had this whole Skyhooks thing worked out. If we’d rehearsed it woulda been adorable!”

And there was no unnecessary lingering for the encore.

“Custard in 2015 is a very efficient business — we have shareholders to account to,” McCormack quipped.

“We fly in, we fly out — none of this waiting 15 minutes for the encore!”

As a measure of the band returning to the peak of their powers, McCormack broke his first guitar string in two years on the frenetic finale.

Great night last night!! You were AMAZING! True rock stars. Pinball Les has returned!

Posted by Bree Craig on Saturday, 12 December 2015

Playlist:Orchids in Water, We Are the Parents (Our Parents Warned Us About), Pack Yr Suitcases, Alone, 1990’s, The New Matthew, Warren Rd, Contemporary Art, Music is Crap, Record Machine, If You Would Like To, Girls Like That (Don’t Go For Guys Like Us), Lucky Star, Queensland University, Pinball Lez, Apartment

Encore:Pluto, Anatomically Correct, Bedford, Singlette, Caboolture Speed Lab

Originally published as Review: Custard, The Triffid Brisbane, December 12, 2015