Currently featuring founding members Steve Kilby (vocals, bass, keys, guitar), Peter Koppes (guitar, keys, vocals) along with Tim Powles (drums, percussion, vocals, guitar) and Ian Huag (guitar, vocals), the Sydney, Australia-based psych rock/post-punk/new wave/indie rock quintet The Church initially formed in 1980. And despite numerous lineup changes, the band has managed to simultaneously be one of Australia’s most critically applauded and commercially successful bands while having a long-held reputation an uncompromising artistic vision over the course of their 37 year history, a history which includes 24 full-length albums — including 1988’s Starfish, an effort that includes their international breakthrough hit “Under the Milky Way,” and arguably one of their best albums, my personal favorite 1990’s Gold Afternoon Fix and their most recent effort, 2014’s Further/Deeper.
Over the past couple of years, the Australian quintet have had a rather busy touring schedule that has included an increasing number Stateside tours, which included a number of New York area stops, as well as this 2015 SXSW set at Emo’s. And much like the Echo and the Bunnymen footage I posted last night, this particular set features a wide range of material across their material featuring songs off Hindsight 1980-1987, Priest = Aura, Uninvited, Like the Clouds, the aforementioned Starfish and Gold Afternoon Fix, as well as material off their then-recently released effort Further/Deeper.
Setlist
0:15 Is This Where You Live (Hindsight 1980-1987)
8:45 Delirious (Further/Deeper)
15:00 Laurel Canyon (Further/Deeper)
20:10 You Took (The Blurred Crusade)
31:20 Metropolis (Gold Afternoon Fix)
35:51 Toy Head (Further/Deeper)
43:00 Vanishing Man (Further/Deeper)
48:33 The Disillusionist (Priest=Aura)
55:40 Old Flame (Priest=Aura)
58:21 Reptile (Starfish)
1:04:57 Block (Uninvited, Like the Clouds)
1:13:12 Under the Milky Way (Starfish)
1:18:57 Miami (Further/Deeper)