As You Am I haven’t played in Brisbane since last year, it’s a given that a boisterous sold out crowd is present to witness what is effectively a ‘greatest hits’ set. They open with Ain’t Gone And Open from 1995’s Hi Fi Way and give attention to songs from across their fourteen-year career. Lead guitarist Davey Lane backs up last week’s performance in the touring Crowded House band in style, while the ever-entertaining Tim Rogers strongman-flexes his skinny frame and pulls faces. Soon after he removes his shirt, he pauses and suggests that the males in the crowd had better get their act together, as the “girls are all looking at Timmy”.

The band apparently played both their best and worst shows of all time last week, and Rogers comically announces to the audience that we’re part of a post-modern experiment: this time, the band’s a blank canvas and our response directly affects their performance. This would be a worrying situation for lesser bands, but this is You Am I, damnit: they’ve fought long and hard to sit among living Australian rock royalty. Despite his apparent addiction to touring – Rogers regularly performs both solo, and with his band The Temperance Union – it’s clear that he thoroughly enjoys playing with this band, two of which – Andy Kent and Rusty Hopkinson – have served alongside him through thick and thin since the band’s early days. Rogers asks the crowd to tell bands to cover that timeless gem, Berlin Chair, so that they get rich off the royalties: it’s among the best two and a half minutes of rock ever conceived, and evokes the strongest crowd response of the night.

Microphones are pointed toward the crowd during Purple Sneakers: is that a quick smile I glance upon the face of Rogers’ unflappable stage persona, as he hears those brilliant lyrics of his sung back at him four hundred-fold? After their encore break, a fan down the front yells “keep playing all night Timmy!”: Rogers interjects with quick wit, demanding that the man “shut up and sit right here for the duration of this song”. The frontman and his new friend sit on the drum riser – the former fretting chords, the latter strumming along – to How Much Is Enough?, which appeared on Hi Fi Way as the final track and is surely the most appropriate closing song. Yet, Rogers isn’t done yet: he ditches the guitar and screams through Thank God I’ve Hit The Bottom, from last year’s Convicts. As the band take their time to thank the crowd and bow goodnight, I remember the blank canvas experiment. Judging by the adoring cheers and satisfied grins across the room, we’ve united to paint something beautiful.

FasterLouder