The Go-Betweens and the Court and Spark
Slim's, San Francisco, CA
June 17, 2005

My pre-birthday trip to the city to see the Go-Betweens perform at Slim's was no less godlike than expected. We caught about half of openers The Court And Spark's set, featuring an interesting countryfied cover of Depeche Mode's "Policy of Truth". The venue wasn't too crowded, but for some reason everyone was standing five feet from the stage during the openers. We made our way to the front, stage left by the end of their set, and sure enough as soon as tCaS said good night, everyone took four steps forward. Don't let the opening band think you're interested, people. We were able to get a spot right against the stage, and as such were able to the read the set list. It looked fantastic ... lots of highlights from their latest album Oceans Apart, and plenty of older favorites. The band entered shortly thereafter, Robert Forster decked out in a black and white herringbone suit while Grant McLennan opted for the more casual jeans and t-shirt. They were joined by new Go-Betweens in the drummer and bassist, who brought a playful mood to the evening. Diving straight into "Magic in Here" from their reunion album The Friends of Rachel Worth, i was enthralled. Highlights included "Boundary Rider" and "Darlinghurst Nights" from Oceans Apart, and classics "Was There Anything I Could Do?", "Streets of Your Town", and "Spring Rain". The band reemerged for no less than four encores, hitting more highs in personal favorite "Head Full of Steam" as well as "Dive for Your Memory", "Too Much of One Thing", and "Cattle and Cane". Wow. I can't even begin to convey how great this show was.

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