Words & photos by: Michael Bradley
Australia is known for our musical contribution to the world at large. Our audibly artistic output has had no end in sight since we boomed with the unprecedented success of groups like The Easybeats and The Bee Gees, and later, AC/DC and INXS. In recent times, we’ve made more international noise at the top of the charts thanks to Psychedelic-Rock legends Tame Impala and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, but before their existence – and even before Wolfmother – there was another group keeping alight the fire of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Jet.
Jet’s legitimacy as worthy successors to the torch of Rock was confirmed even before the release of their 2003 debut album, Get Born, when they were asked to support The Rolling Stones on their 2003 Australian Tour. The subsequent exposure and success of their music took them around the world, playing to foreigners who still buy tickets to their shows to this day. This is why it surprised me when the announcement came that they were booked to play at Ellis Beach Bar & Grill, one of Cairns’ smallest, most intimate venues. Tickets for the show were sold out, but I ended up with one and made my way to the petite beachside location.
After a couple of support acts, the icons of Australian Rock took to the stage at 9pm with the simple and humble introduction, “We are the Rock ‘n’ Roll band Jet from Melbourne,” before kicking off the evening with the first song from the first album, Last Chance. The energy was high and the humidity was even higher. “I know you guys are used to this, but it is HOT,” lead singer and guitarist, Nic Cester, told the audience as he wiped the sweat from his eyes with a face towel. Bassist, Mark Wilson, and guitarist, Cameron Muncey, stood to Nic’s left and right, thumping at their respective instruments in true garage-rock fashion as the amps ran hot to keep up with the deafening volume.
The boys roared through a number of tracks, all of which were well known to the concertgoers who sang and danced along to every minute of it – I was reminded how many hit singles they released in a short period of time across only a few albums: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, She’s A Genius, Black Hearts (On Fire), and Seventeen were amongst the first handful of songs they performed – anyone who listened to the Australian radio in the mid to late 2000s would recognise (and likely know the lyrics to) them all. To defy the stereotype of being a nostalgic act, they added to the setlist their latest release, Hurry Hurry, which although quietening the fans who didn’t know the lyrics, still managed to hold their attention and make them move.
“After living and recording in New York, we realised that we hated it, so we came back home. This song is about that.” Nic explained to the crowd before performing one of their lesser-known tracks, Goodbye Hollywood. It’s small gestures like this which remind us that musicians are people, too, and not all of them forget their roots – although the picturesque, postcard-perfect cities of the world are generally held in high regard, sometimes laid-back Australia is the best and only home one can ask for.
In between songs, Nic sipped from a glass of scotch and told us anecdotes which were both interesting and funny, like bumping into an old friend here in Cairns and then on the spot making the connection that perhaps he is to blame to his parents’ divorce. “Were you having sex with my mum, Ken?” he asked with a smirk to the darkness of the far reaches of the crowd. It was a joke which continued throughout the night, making us all feel like part of an inside joke, strengthening the sense of community and down-to-earth-ness that Jet deliver. While introducing Look What You’ve Done, and explaining that it was written about the divorce, Nic followed up with a cheeky “Fuck you, Ken” which caused an eruption of laughter – even the band could barely keep it together for the first several bars of the song.
An easy highlight of the evening for me was when they performed what Nic tells audiences abroad is “The Australian National Anthem.” Their cover of AC/DC’s It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) was a warmly welcomed surprise. It was the point of the night when the roof was well and truly raised as a choir of Australians sang at the top of their lungs. I’ve seen and heard quite a few AC/DC covers over the years, but rarely does anyone do justice to the vocals. This cover was an exception. Remarkably, by the second verse, I was certain I’d never heard anyone sing this similarly to the late great Bon Scott. Nic has the right amount of higher register range and controlled distortion to pull off respectfully simulating the voice of one of the most well-known singers of all time.
The gig at a high, it was pushed even further when they steamrolled into the international smash hit that propelled them to icon status, Are You Gonna Be My Girl. Everyone jumping and bumping into one another, 6-ft gym junkies fist-pumping, young ladies spilling their drinks on me, this proved trying to snap photos much more difficult – and it didn’t stop. Jet thanked Cairns for coming to see them and continued with Rollover DJ, Get Me Outta Here, and Cold Hard Bitch. The latter is a testament to Nic’s vocals and how well he has maintained his chops over the past two decades – it contains the “YEEAAAHHHH” primal scream, reminiscent of the famous Roger Daltrey scream in The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Jet said their goodbyes and walked off the stage as the completely packed venue thundered for an encore. The chant of “One more song! One more song!” bounced off the walls as Nic returned to the stage alone with an acoustic guitar. He softly told us that he is going to play us a song he doesn’t do much, but feels like tonight is a good opportunity. Shine On was his choice and understandably it’s something he may not wish to revisit often – “I wrote this after my dad died,” he told us. Annoyingly, during the entire performance was the droning rumble of chatter throughout the venue from the drunks who didn’t care to listen. It’s moments like these whereby one can make the distinction between loyal music fans and those who just want to party.
The rest of the band made their way back to the stage, beers in hand, and ready to send the night off with a bang. Their final song was Rip It Up, which certainly allowed everyone to shake out their last strands of energy. Jet then fronted the stage, bowed, and waved their thanks before throwing us guitar picks, drum sticks, and even a sweat rag or two – which we did need by that point. The house lights now showing us to one another, I could see the sticky and dripping people around me, scrambling to the exits in their flawed attempts to beat the rush. For a show which I almost didn’t attend – shoutout to my good friend Nathan for the ticket – I left with a great thrill, a sense of contentment, and the desire to do this more often.
Tickets available via Live Nation
