Bernard Fanning brought the Tea & Sympathy 20th Anniversary Tour to the Palais Theatre on Friday night, revisiting his 2005 debut solo record with the band that originally helped take it on the road.
Joined by multi-instrumentalist John Bedggood, guitarist Andrew Morris, drummer Declan Kelly and bassist Matt Engelbrecht, the show focused on presenting the album in a live setting, alongside a handful of related tracks and covers.
Opener “Down to the River” began with Fanning alone, backlit into silhouette, before the band emerged easing the song into full colour. It was a subtle but powerful statement: this wasn’t just a solo retrospective, it was a reunion with the chemistry that made these songs breathe in the first place.
“Wash Me Clean” was rendered with hushed intimacy, just Fanning and Bedggood, while “Songbird” stretched out with Engelbrecht’s bassline taking the lead and giving the song a new spine. Elsewhere, b-side “For You and I” felt buoyant, blue-lit, and played with a loose joy that comes from rediscovering an old favourite you haven’t worn out.
Visually, the show was understated but effective using strong coloured lighting and a backdrop of video loops to occasionally set the scene. “Believe” drifted against a galaxy of stars, while “The Strangest Thing” brought to mind Split Enz cira “One Step Ahead” before morphing into a jam that included a snippet of “The Wind Cries Mary.” With Fanning offstage for a breather, guitarist Andrew Morris (The Wilson Pickers) stepped forward, channelling Hendrix in both voice and guitar.
If there was an MVP, it was Bedggood. Switching between mandolin, violin, and keys, he coloured the set with texture and nuance – the swelling Hammond on “Which Way Home?” and the aching violin lines in “Songbird” particular stand-outs. Behind him, Kelly’s drumming was steady but expressive, anchoring even the loosest moments without overplaying.
Fanning himself was relaxed, reflective, and occasionally mischievous. His stage banter touched on the state of the world before veering into a tongue-in-cheek political sorting of the crowd into Greens, Labor, and Coalition sections based on how interactive they had been – “a great way to alienate my audience,” he deadpanned.
Midway through the show, he performed “Steady Job,” a new acoustic song written in the style of Tea & Sympathy for the anniversary reissue. Towards the end, tour support acts Sam Cromack (Ballpark Music) and Georgia Mooney (All Our Exes Live in Texas) joined Fanning and Bedggood for “Watch Over Me,” each taking a verse, before the full band returned for “Yesterday’s Gone,” a singalong closer for the main set.
Without leaving the stage, Fanning indicated the performance had moved into an encore section, describing it as the part of the night where they play songs they enjoy. Tonight this included a cover of George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness,” followed by a surprisingly earnest reading of James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,”
The set concluded with “Wish You Well,” with the crowd drowning him out on the chorus – especially that “never heard the warning bell” line.
Overall, the performance stayed close to the source material while allowing for some extended instrumental sections and minor rearrangements, focusing more on faithful presentation than reinterpretation. Which was fine as twenty years on, Tea & Sympathy hasn’t aged so much as it’s deepened.
Full setlist:
- Down to the River
- Thrill Is Gone
- Hope & Validation
- Wash Me Clean
- Not Finished Just Yet
- Songbird
- For You and I
- Further Down the Road
- Believe
- The Strangest Thing (With “The Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi Hendrix)
- Which Way Home?
- Steady Job
- Watch Over Me (With Georgia Mooney & Sam Cromack)
- Yesterday’s Gone (With Georgia Mooney & Sam Cromack)
- Beware of Darkness (George Harrison cover)
- Fire and Rain (James Taylor cover)
- Sleeping Rough
- Wish You Well