Boom Crash Opera / James Reyne

 

Boom Crash Opera / James Reyne

Canberra Southern Cross Club

2 April 2026

 

“We’re going to play a new song”.

 

Is there a any phrase you dread to hear more coming from the stage than that one?

 

Boom Crash Opera even made a joke about it. James Reyne pointed people to the bar.

 

There must be something so disheartening when you’re nearly 60 to know that all people want to hear is work you did in your early 20s, so it’s understandable wanting to play a new song or two. You have lived a life and want to write about it. Surely that’s one of the reasons you formed a band in the first place.

 

On the other hand, there must be something satisfying seeing a thousand people singing your song lyrics back to you. You don’t get that in an office job! So understandably both Boom Crash Opera and James Reyne stuck to the hits.

 

It’s self-evident, but the reason why the songs are hits is because people like them. You could see it in the artist’s faces the joy and appreciation when the crowd sang the lyrics back to them that were written when they were young men. The songs had woven their way into the audience’s lives and they were happy to be reminded of when they first heard them, or special moments, or who they were with. It’s a rare treat for musicians. 

 

Both artists started off with a big hit (Great Wall and Boys Light Up respectively) which is only something you can do if you have enough big hits left in your bag to play later. And they did! James Reyne was celebrating 40 years of Australian Crawl and played most of their big hits and some hits of his own. Boom Crash Opera mainly stuck to their heyday of the late 80s, but no one was complaining!

 

Unfortunately, both artists were let down by a terrible mix. It flattened the songs, removing all subtlety. A side note, but one that is relevant, is that Canberra really needs a good venue for mid-sized bands to play. Playing in what was essentially a conference venue (you could almost see where the conference tables had been removed) wasn’t ideal.

 

Both bands overcame these obstacles and put on a show which delivered exactly what the audience was after.

Pulp - Sydney Opera House

 

Pulp

Sydney Opera House

6 March 2026

 

 

If push came to shove, I think Britpop is my favourite musical genre. Even beyond the usual Oasis verses Blur debate, there was lots of music that I really liked. It was melodic, it was guitar driven (but not too heavy) and it was exciting.

 

However, while the music of Britpop was great, there were some definite downsides. The lad culture, the low-key misogyny and the boozy louts were all things that are best left behind in the 90s.   

 

Pulp (along with my favourite Britpop band Suede) mostly stood outside of much of this. They wrote little vignettes stories of everyday life. Jarvis Cocker was always a chronicler of human stories and emotions.

 

In 2025 Pulp recorded a new album (24 years since their previous one) called More. Jarvis continued his kitchen sink dramas, but this time he was telling stories of middle age. Farmers Markets feature for god’s sake! Commuting and worrying about wrinkles do too, for that matter. But he was older so had some wisdom to share. It was an album for older people. But not old people. It was excellent.

 

The concert itself was incredible. A fair section of More featured, but the bulk of the set was drawn from their classic Different Class album. They also played other hits and deeper cuts. In fact, they played pretty much every song that you would want to hear. The opening of Sorted for E’s and Wizz and Disco 2000 was as good an opening of a concert as I’ve seen and they kept the momentum up for the whole set.

 

Unfortunately push did come to shove at various points in the show. Some of the crowd may have had a few too many drinks before Pulp arrived on stage. Maybe they were trying to reclaim their youth (there’s nothing sadder than a bunch of middle-aged men who still think they are still 20 and can handle their drink like they used to). Or maybe they were just dickheads. A few idiots shouldn’t ruin the show, but it did take me out of the performance for a couple of songs.

 

It makes me wonder if these people actually listened to the songs that were being performed or were they just singing along to the catchy choruses. They were definitely the worst part of Britpop culture personified.

 

But in the end, it didn’t matter. Pulp were excellent. And you can’t do much about dickheads.

 

Pulp = 5 stars. The audience (where I was standing) = 1 star.