Shihad still super hot

SHIHAD opened their Southern Sounds set with ‘My Mind’s Sedate’ and proceeded to have the couple of thousand fans – mainly ex-pats – eating from their palm. Or should I say eating from ‘his’ palm?

Photo by Justin Ng

Ever the showman, frontman Jonny Toogood has always been allowed – encouraged even – to take centre stage in Shihad and Saturday’s show was no exception.

Dressed appropriately in ‘all black’ (black jeans and a basic black tee) the 39-year-old’s mood was anything but dark.

Check out the photos of Shihad in action at Southern Sounds

He was chatty from start to finish, and, if he wasn’t intimate enough with the screaming crowd already, he got up close and personal during ‘Wait and See’, leaping from the stage into the first few rows.

Once back on stage, he joked he had just made a few new friends.

Not that Toogood needed to do that to convince those present of Shihad’s prowess.

While Shihad’s job was to support rock institution and headliners INXS, many left after 9pm, of the opinion the Wellington boys’ 50-minute set was superior.

It was certainly a grittier display that warmed the crowd up splendidly for the main act.

Their ability to excite and engage the crowd was simply outstanding.

From a sea of arm swaying during ‘Pacifier’, to the crowd singing the chorus of ‘Run’, to Toogood’s departing words after the finale ‘Home Again’, everyone knew their cue, on stage and off.

When you are watching a band that appears to be having the time of their lives up there, it’s hard not to do the same.

Their chemistry, after playing more than a 1000 shows together over 22 years, is right up there with some of the tightest bands I’ve seen.

Most of their set was from the General Electric album, bringing back memories of cranking up my stereo as a teenager in Charlton, with ‘Comfort me’ and ‘Run’ the standouts.

“After this I’m gonna get ***ked up, see some friends and sing along to INXS. I hope you can join me,” Toogood said before their final song.

I never did cross paths with Jonny but that’s ok. He made me and many others feel like we had spent a quality hour together on Saturday arvo. That’s good enough for me.