The Getaway Plan
4 piece Melbourne band formed in 2004, The Getaway Plan are Matthew Wright– Vocals, Clint Owen Ellis – Guitars, Dave Anderson – Bass and Aaron Barnett – Drums. The band parted ways back in 2009, only to reform at the end of 2010. The band released their latest album ‘Requiem’ in 2011.
Discography –
EP - Hold Conversation (2006)
Other Voices, Other Rooms (2008)
Requiem (2011)
The Getaway Plan touring Australia with Groovin the Moo Festival. I caught up with the band on their sideshow gig at Amplifier Perth.
The crowd consisted of well-established TGP fans. From the moment the set started the band’s rock quality took over. It was a pleasure to be a part of. So this review does not turn into a rant, suffice it to say, all too often recently the sound at live events has been detrimental to the band, venue and event. The fact a band brings along their own mixer isn’t a guarantee that sound will be pleasing even to the untrained ear. I don’t think any of the fans are naive enough to expect studio quality sound at live events, but they do expect to be able to hear the vocals and not have massive distortion on the instruments.
Thank goodness on this occasion faith is restored and the sound was the finest quality all through the set. TGP are not the biggest communicators with their audience, they were 5 tracks in before front man Matt even said hello, however the obvious love of their craft that shines through as they perform more than compensates. These guys have toured the world together, played 100’s of shows, therefore their performance is tight and polished. They are loud and diverse and they make it look easy. Matt’s vocals are strong, he can sing a vast range of styles comfortably without straining. The band played a combination of tracks from their catalogue. For anyone who isn’t familiar with their material the guys have had several commercial successes. ‘Shadows’ from ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’ in 2008 is a stand out track and got the call back from the audience. ‘Where the City Meets the Sea’ from the same album, was the bands finale to the delight of the crowd. Both tracks have an indie/rock style theme, but that is not typical for all their material. The band are diverse they slowed their set for ‘Move Along’ yet rocked it out with ‘Sleep Spindles’ and the brilliant ‘Red Flag’, this track has a great melody for a screamer song and guitar riffs that move you and give that rare feeling of ‘please don’t be finished yet!’. Extra 2 drums came out for epic intro beats of ‘Hearstone’. On this occasion the guys had to drop ‘Stars’ from their set because of time constraints. TGP gave a quality live performance at Amps, and even though these guys have been around for a while they are well worth revisiting, we need to see more of them and some more new material soon.
Set List –
Flying Colours
Phantoms
Sleep Spindles
The Reckoning
Move Along
New Medicine
Shadows
Stars
The New Year
Red Flag
Heartstone
Where The City Meets The Sky
Click on the link below to hear ‘The Getaway Plan’ – The Reckoning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ht4fEEtBU
(warning - contains disturbing scenes of children killing another child)
To see the band live check out the tour dates below –
Jul 11 - Amplifier - Perth, Australia
Jul 12 - Fowlers Live - Adelaide, Australia
Jul 13 - Billboard The Venue - Melbourne Vic, Australia
Jul 14 - The Hi-Fi - Sydney, Australia
Jul 17 - Hi-Fi - Brisbane, Australia
https://www.facebook.com/thegetawayplan
http://www.thegetawayplan.com/
Words: Mel Scrafton
Photo: Thalia Russell
Discography –
EP - Hold Conversation (2006)
Other Voices, Other Rooms (2008)
Requiem (2011)
The Getaway Plan touring Australia with Groovin the Moo Festival. I caught up with the band on their sideshow gig at Amplifier Perth.
The crowd consisted of well-established TGP fans. From the moment the set started the band’s rock quality took over. It was a pleasure to be a part of. So this review does not turn into a rant, suffice it to say, all too often recently the sound at live events has been detrimental to the band, venue and event. The fact a band brings along their own mixer isn’t a guarantee that sound will be pleasing even to the untrained ear. I don’t think any of the fans are naive enough to expect studio quality sound at live events, but they do expect to be able to hear the vocals and not have massive distortion on the instruments.
Thank goodness on this occasion faith is restored and the sound was the finest quality all through the set. TGP are not the biggest communicators with their audience, they were 5 tracks in before front man Matt even said hello, however the obvious love of their craft that shines through as they perform more than compensates. These guys have toured the world together, played 100’s of shows, therefore their performance is tight and polished. They are loud and diverse and they make it look easy. Matt’s vocals are strong, he can sing a vast range of styles comfortably without straining. The band played a combination of tracks from their catalogue. For anyone who isn’t familiar with their material the guys have had several commercial successes. ‘Shadows’ from ‘Other Voices, Other Rooms’ in 2008 is a stand out track and got the call back from the audience. ‘Where the City Meets the Sea’ from the same album, was the bands finale to the delight of the crowd. Both tracks have an indie/rock style theme, but that is not typical for all their material. The band are diverse they slowed their set for ‘Move Along’ yet rocked it out with ‘Sleep Spindles’ and the brilliant ‘Red Flag’, this track has a great melody for a screamer song and guitar riffs that move you and give that rare feeling of ‘please don’t be finished yet!’. Extra 2 drums came out for epic intro beats of ‘Hearstone’. On this occasion the guys had to drop ‘Stars’ from their set because of time constraints. TGP gave a quality live performance at Amps, and even though these guys have been around for a while they are well worth revisiting, we need to see more of them and some more new material soon.
Set List –
Flying Colours
Phantoms
Sleep Spindles
The Reckoning
Move Along
New Medicine
Shadows
Stars
The New Year
Red Flag
Heartstone
Where The City Meets The Sky
Click on the link below to hear ‘The Getaway Plan’ – The Reckoning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ht4fEEtBU
(warning - contains disturbing scenes of children killing another child)
To see the band live check out the tour dates below –
Jul 11 - Amplifier - Perth, Australia
Jul 12 - Fowlers Live - Adelaide, Australia
Jul 13 - Billboard The Venue - Melbourne Vic, Australia
Jul 14 - The Hi-Fi - Sydney, Australia
Jul 17 - Hi-Fi - Brisbane, Australia
https://www.facebook.com/thegetawayplan
http://www.thegetawayplan.com/
Words: Mel Scrafton
Photo: Thalia Russell