The Getaway Plan

The long twisting line of loyal fans braving the freezing weather outside Billboard was enough to tell me this was going to be a big gig; as everybody eagerly waited to see Melbourne’s mighty band TheGetaway Plan. The Shadows tour is the group’s first concert tour, playing in the biggest rooms to date. So I was interested in seeing how they could manage performing at the next level.

While the anticipating crowd grew inside, the Brisbane boys from A Year To Remember were first tohit the stage; with the difficult task of warming up a sober audience. Majority of people were still clambering for a drink at the bar, but A Year To Remember drew a fair number to the stage and captured the majorities attention. Finishing on a massive instrumental solo, where all members were rocking their fingers to the bone, really got everybody into their music and was an awesome end to their set.

After being treated to this fresh band everybody went back to drinking, until Calling All Cars emerged under the spotlight. Calling All Cars looked very comfortable on stage; they were more active and energetic, which was entertaining to watch. At one point Hayden Ing (vocals) jumped off the stage into the mosh below, belting out the chorus with fans in each arm. After finishing their set Ing trashed the drum set, which drove the crowd into a frenzy; giving the security guards work to do. Both support bands did a great job warming up the audience, but it wasn’t until the main attraction dawned the stage I witnessed what these fans were capable of.

As the excited buzz grew, so did the number of people; with the venue now looking close to capacity. Being a Getaway Plan fan, I could feel my heartbeat growing faster as you heard the band tuning their instruments, behind the now curtained off stage. I was not the only one who felt this, as each noise attracted a large amount of cheers and excited murmurs throughout the audience.

The roar was deafening when the curtains opened, and each member of The Getaway Plan made their way on the stage. Tiny lights popped up everywhere in the crowd, as people captured footage of the boys, with either mobile phones or digital cameras. Opening on their most successful song so far, Where The City Meets The Sea; drove fans wild as they lapped up this rocking tune. The scene near the stage was anarchy, everybody had their hands raised while screaming the lyrics and moshing at an insane level. Glancing around the room I couldn’t see one person who at least wasn’t singing along to themselves.

All the band members were amazing; Barnett got an excellent beat out of the drums, both Ellis and Anderson were great to watch as they juggled the ability to thrash their guitars, while jumping around head banging; and lead singer Matthew Wright sounded fantastic live, belting out each track with ease.

Songs such as Melophobia and shadows had the crowd screaming for more while the band wrapped up their show; until the raging chants for an encore could not be ignored. During their final encored song Transmission, snowflakes shot out from the roof showering the crowd; tied together with a backdrop of an iceberg created a terrific affect. It had me pocketing my notepad and joining in the infectious head banging; singing their song at the top of my voice.

If it’s the bands job to entertain their audience, giving them a first-class experience; then The Getaway Plan accomplished this with flying colours. I went to their show liking the band, I left loving them.

Share this review on Facebook