Manning Bar, Sydney
Sunday 7 July, 2024
Radio Birdman | Hard Ons
Reviewer / Photographer : Kevin Bull
Personally, I feel quite honoured to have seen this show, and to get the chance to photograph it is the cherry on top. After 50 years of tearing venues around the world a new one, Birdman played their final show at the Manning Bar last Sunday. It was sold out months ago, as was Friday and Saturday night, with a number of punters I chatted with catching each of the three Sydney shows. It was clear that if you were a fan, you had to see them on this final run. I was one of those, driving down from the Central Coast by myself just to witness this special, and quite sad event.
The setlist is in the post below so I won’t go listing each and every song they played, needless to say they played all the songs we were hoping for, plus a number of special covers that slotted neatly into the encore.
What was noticeable to myself was just how powerful tonight was. It was loud, really loud, but everything within the mix was decipherable. Younger spat his words with venom, slammed the mic stand into the stage, and was a commanding presence on stage. Having seen the band half a dozen times over the past 15 years, I just don’t recall him being this forceful. It was like he was draining his body of Birdman on the stage, this was the final moments and an exorcism was occuring.
to be continued…..
