Live Review: Art Alexakis of Everclear @ The Brightside

It was an unusually chilly October night as a small crowd of devoted Everclear fans filed into Brisbane’s The Brightside and populated the back half of the venue, leaving the dancefloor practically empty. They were most likely saving their legs for the 2-hour set time that was advertised on the door. But by the time 9:30pm rolled around they more than ready to sing along to the songs that were a part of the soundtrack of their younger years.

Rather than begin straight away, Alexakis decided to talk to the crowd first. This ultimately set the tone for the rest of the evening, as it was a show that would involve the crowd a lot. After introducing himself and going back and forth with the people on the dancefloor, Alexakis opened the night with Song from an American Movie Part 1.

Talking about the tracks before they were played was also a common theme throughout the show. Before playing his hits, Alexakis gave the crowd an insight into what inspired him to write the tracks. Wonderful was one of the various songs he wrote about divorce, Strawberry was inspired by a bad dream he had during the production of iconic ‘Sparkle and Fade’ album, and Heartspark Dollarsign was written about a girl he dated while living in the projects.

“…with the audience’s help making the “doo-doo-doo-doo” sound, Alexakis went on to play his ‘last song’, Everything to Everyone.”

The explanation of Heartspark Dollarsign possibly gave the greatest insight into Alexakis’ personality, since he thought the experience was pivotal in forming his tolerant world view (AKA, why he’s not voting for Donald Trump).

Hearing the Everclear songs stripped back to just an acoustic guitar gave the songs a great emotional resonance. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that, while a lot of Everclear songs have an upbeat pop-rock tone to them, the lyrical content of many of their songs is actually quite heavy. Alexakis acknowledged this, saying that he writes depressing songs that sound happy, before playing Father of Mine –one of the quintessential examples. “I need to start writing happier songs,” said Alexakis after he finished.

Alexakis followed by playing The Man Who Broke His Own Heart, Loser Makes Good, and I Will Buy You a New Life. Then he stated the next song would be his last, but no one was buying it! Normally the crowd would play along, but with this show being as intimate as it was someone from the crowd called Alexakis out. He then admitted he was pulling the crowd’s leg and that he actually thought encores were pretentious. Then, with the audience’s help making the “doo-doo-doo-doo” sound, Alexakis went on to play his ‘last song’, Everything to Everyone.

“He made the odd mistake, and admitted that he forgot the words to certain songs, but that was all a part of the charm.”

After he pretended to walk off for the encore break, Alexakis picked up his 12-string guitar and became the self-proclaimed ‘surly jukebox’ by playing songs requested from the crowd. Among the requested songs he played were abbreviated versions of Sunflowers, Learning How to Smile, and Heroin Girl.

He didn’t play everything the crowd requested (that’s where the surly part came in), but he definitely played enough to keep everyone engaged. After playing Summerland Alexakis ended the night with Santa Monica, the song that you generally tell people to listen to when they claim to not know the music of Everclear. Being one of Everclear’s truly iconic songs, Alexakis had no problem getting the crowd to sing the chorus towards the end. It was a scene that could have transported any 90s kid back to their formative years.

An Evening with Art Alexakis of Everclear was a rather unique opportunity for diehard Everclear fans. It felt more like a gathering of friends than a live show, as Alexakis constantly interacted with the audience. He made the odd mistake, and admitted that he forgot the words to certain songs, but that was all a part of the charm.

If you missed out on this opportunity to see Art Alexakis perform the Everclear classics, you won’t have to wait long. Alexakis revealed that he is planning to tour with the full band in the not-so-distant future. Better yet, he also said that his wife wants to move to Brisbane. Let’s hope she gets her way so the Brisbane fans can get more of these intimate shows!