MANY of us remember The GoBetweens as one of the greatest groups of the 1980s, and when we heard that the "Australian Talking Heads" had reformed and were playing two nights at Dublin's Mean Fiddler, we rubbed our wrinkled hands in anticipation.
On Tuesday night, Robert Forster was reunited with his erstwhile partner, Grant McLennan, but the original rhythm section of Robert Vickers and Lindy Morrison were replaced by bassist Adele Pickvance and drummer Ross McLennan.
It was of little consequence, however - with The Go Betweens, the song's the thing, and when the group opened with To Reach Me, they connected instantly with their core following. Bye Bye Pride, In The Core Of A Flame, Right Here and Draining The Pool For You trooped by like a parade of classic hits.
The band unveiled each song with scant ceremony, remaining cool and restrained through Bachelor Kisses, Spring Rain and Love Goes On!, while the crowd revelled in this musical feast from the immediate past. It all ended far too soon for true comfort, although Forster and McLennan encored with acoustic readings of Cattle And Cane and Clouds, and the rest of the band did a fine job on Was There Anything I Could Do? There wasn't anything more they could do except cram in as many great songs as possible into a nostalgic, somewhat secondhand night.
