Review: The Church @ The Gov 04/12/25
Sliding up to half a century of existence, The Church are still a dynamic and legendary band, without a notion of slowing down.
Words Brad Pine // Image supplied
The Church @ The GOv 04/12/25
Sometimes bands that defy the laws of age dismiss playing their older material, wanting to focus on the new material and the future. Their past musings can seem like a parallel universe – something removed from a band’s current state. But for The Church, the selection of singles for this career retrospective tour goes beyond the radio songs and well-known classics. For the less avid fan, there might be some surprises and new favourites.
Approaching the Gov on a hot Thursday night, the sold-out show had delivered an impressive line waiting for the doors to open. People conversing in the line reminisced over past shows and saw this gig as a highlight on their 2025 live music calendar. As the Gov filled up, the anticipation amongst the crowd grew. Some audience members were in Church merch from tours past, announcing their longtime admiration for the band. Suddenly, whilst a forgotten track from T. Rex plays, the music became louder, building to the introduction of the band to Vangelis’ ‘Blade Runner (Main Titles)’.
There is no doubting Steve Kilbey’s presence as a frontman, even from his first steps onto the Gov’s revered stage. Kilbey is the face of The Church and forever will be. Even when going solo or teaming up with All India Radio’s Martin Kennedy, Kilbey always seems at home with his band – albeit with new faces from time to time.
The night was split into two sets of ten songs. The first set started with ‘Columbus’ and ‘Electric Lash’ before Kilbey demonstrated his prowess not only as a storyteller but an occasional comedian. A handful of jokes may have fallen flat, but one story about the Fabulous Zarsoff Brothers left parts of the audience wondering if it was a true story or just part of Kilbey’s wit (me included).
The first set took a psychedelic turn with the futuristic ‘The Hypnogogue’, a song from the concept album of the same name detailing the fable of an aging rockstar in 2054 searching for a new hit single. However, the trip on the astral plane descended back down to Earth with the “pub classic” ‘The Unguarded Moment’. It was at this point that Kilbey made it known that he was battling a “nasty cough” – “… But I am doing it for you all.” The comment received a wave of applause, knowing we were blessed with Steve and co. to perform for us. Ever the consummate professional, he continued with “their last real hit” from ‘90s Gold Afternoon Fix, ‘Metropolis’.
The real highlights for the set were ‘Block’ and ‘Reptile’. The former saw the whole band on top of their game, belting out the deep cut single from 2006. ‘Reptile’ finished the set and had the whole audience moving as one. Huge praise to percussionists Nicholas Meredith and Tim Powles with this track; amazing energy to pump us all up.
After a small interlude and a costume change, The Church arrived back onstage and launched straight into ‘With You’ – one of the band’s biggest hits and a great continuation from the previous set. After ‘When You Were Mine’, Kilbey introduced us to the rest of the band, complete with a dig at Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug “slumming it” with The Church after playing stadiums to now playing pubs and smaller gigs.
‘Ripple’ and ‘Destination’ flowed beautifully into each other before some more deep cuts followed. Even though these deep cuts were decades apart, they flowed into each other seamlessly. The storytelling from Kilbey that was present in the first set seemed less this time as he continued to battle with the cough in between songs. But for our benefit, the legendary singer pushed on, thanking us after each song.
Nearing the end of the second set, Kilbey introduced their signature song and what should be the Australian National Anthem – ‘Under the Milky Way’. If Kilbey’s voice was wavering in any way, the crowd was backing him up, singing every phrase and note as loud as they could. ‘Tantalized’ from 1985’s Heyday closed out the set to a rapturous applause as The Church left us wanting more.
The crowd chanted and clapped for the encore. The band obliged and gave us their new single ‘Sacred Echoes (Part Two)’ from the upcoming album Lacuna. In addition, a non-single ended the night – ‘Space Saviour’ from Untitled #23, with a cheeky snippet of Ted Mulry Gang’s ‘Jump in My Car’ beforehand to keep the good vibes going.
The Church are in the ARIA Hall Of Fame for many reasons. But from what was on display tonight, it is their professionalism and the depth of their back catalogue. Some in the crowd may not have known every song, but that is no hindrance to how great The Church’s singles are.
Rest up Steve – hopefully that four-week cough goes away soon.
