Melbourne review wrap: Garbage at the Palais
MUSIC
Garbage ★★★★
Palais Theatre, 11 December
To start, a little backstory. On 5 December, Garbage appeared at Good Things, an alternative music festival held annually in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. At one point during Garbage’s set, a festivalgoer began throwing around an oversized, inflatable beach ball.
After a tense week on tour in Australia, Shirley Manson took to the Palais stage.Credit: Richard Clifford
On a scale of one to truly awful festival behavior, that’s not a particularly high odds – but for whatever reason, on this particular day, Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson was furious about it. separated the man. He called their actions disrespectful. He insulted his hat (“ridiculous”). He commented on the size of his penis (“small”).
The incident went viral, as such things do, and last week Manson became the subject of intense media scrutiny. His later attempts to explain himself were not well received. In the court of public opinion, Shirley Manson was found guilty of idiotic behavior.
All of this suggests that the atmosphere was a bit tense heading into the band’s headline show. Was Manson still in a bad mood? Could he wipe out his entire Aussie fanbase like Ryan Adams did a few months ago? Could even proximity to the beach trigger a stress response, the show at the Palais Theatre, one of the city’s few waterfront live music venues, asks. And most pressing: Would someone try to sneak a beach ball?
No one tried to smuggle a beach ball at Garbage’s Melbourne concert.Credit: Richard Clifford
Garbage takes to the stage like a band with something to prove. Manson performs with seething, volatile energy, singing songs from recently released songs Let Everything We Dream Become Light and hits from the band’s extensive back catalog (#1 Crush, stupid girl, We Are Only Happy When It Rains) with the same self-confidence.
He briefly addresses the media storm, says there’s context to everything, that he has nothing but love for real fans and stands by his stance on beach balls, and then moves on. The important thing tonight is the music.
Of course, the fans who attend headline shows are a different breed than the fans who attend the festival circuit. This band is here for this music. No one is here to undermine a singer who has had to endure sexism, ageism, grueling touring conditions, dwindling wages, increased competition from AI-generated music, and crippling, performance-related injuries. The mood is generously supportive. Not a beach ball in sight.
