Josh Pyke (October 26th, The Forum)

I must be turning into an old lady. I enjoyed this gig, primarily because I didn't have to stand up! I realised last week that I tend to write rather whingey and negative reviews of bands when I'm tired at their gigs so it's probably just as well I got to sit down for this one. And come to think of it, two of my favourite three gigs this year have been in sit-down venues (the Palais and the Regent Theatre).

Anyway, the opening act Whitley performed well enough. I can never quite work out if it's a 'he' or a 'they', but the band played a range of their own material and then a cover of Bjork's Hyperballad. Their sound was a bit like U2 at times and Snow Patrol at others. They were followed by 78 Saab, a band I hadn't heard much from in recent times. They opened with the old favourite Sunshine and then played some new material as well as songs like Beat of Your Drum and No Illusions. A solid performance which made me curious enough about their new album and pleased with what I'd heard.

Josh Pyke himself, as he usually does, put on a great show. Since he has a limited range of material to draw upon, the set consisted of many favourites and most of the songs from Memories and Dust. He opened with Monkey With a Drum and the rest of the set contained Vibrations in Air, Fed and Watered, Forever Song, Lines on Palms, Memories and Dust, Someone Else's Town, Buttons, Private Education, Mannequins, Sew My Name and the highlight Goldmines. There were also a couple of new tracks, one of which was called The Lighthouse Song. Apparently he's recording demos for a new album soon. Then we were treated to Middle of the Hill before he disappeared. The encore was also great- Fill You In, followed by Beg Your Pardon and finished off with Feeding the Wolves. One amusing part of the night was the quick burst of Soundgarden we were almost treated to, because apparently he'd once seen them perform there.

The Forum is a comfortable place to be, especially since the new non-smoking laws came into effect this year. Sitting down in the back half of the room meant we had a view over the mixing desk and right onto Josh himself, perfect after the person standing up in one of the booths was told off and sat down again. Apart from some rude people talking during the main act (a common occurrence at gigs these days... how inconsiderate), it was the perfect venue for the show. I'm not surprised Josh Pyke can fill up the Forum these days, after his initial small shows in venues like the NSC. He's certainly incredibly popular.