During the opening show of Bernard Fanning’s ‘Tea & Sympathy 20th Anniversary Tour’, the acclaimed singer-songwriter told a heckler to “get fucked”.
The Powderfinger frontman regularly speaks with his audiences, and his show at Sydney’s State Theatre was no different. As reported by news.com.au, while preparing to perform a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Kathy’s Song”, he spoke about how music and art can offer an escape amid the current political and cultural state of the world.
“I was thinking about this today… I accidentally was watching the news and the fuckwit pumpkin came on and started yelling at everybody and it made me think about how we’re so bombarded by information,” he said, referencing US President Donald Trump.
The heckler, annoyed by Fanning’s spiel, yelled out: “We’re here for the music, mate!” Fanning quickly hit back. “I can’t hear you mate … what are you saying?,” he said. “And if you don’t want me to talk, that’s ok. You can get fucked.
“So, anyway as I was saying, we’re so bombarded by information you know, and it’s so hard to sort through all of it, and decide what you really think, and the thing that I came to was that, for me, it always comes back to music and art, (it) always brings me comfort.”
Playing all the songs from Tea & Sympathy, and more, Fanning’s Australian tour continues in Adelaide tonight, before shows in Perth, the Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Thirroul, Canberra, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast. Ball Park Music’s Sam Cromack and All Our Exes Live in Texas’ Georgia Mooney, both of whom have released solo music, are joining him across the dates.
One of the truly great debut albums of the last 20 years, Tea & Sympathy reminded fans of the power of storytelling and of music’s ability to bind us. Released on October 31, 2005, the album debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart on release, went on to collect three ARIA Awards, and garnered him APRA’s Songwriter of the Year award in 2006.
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Fanning released 20th anniversary editions of the album on both vinyl and CD, which include updated artwork and rare archival content. The double vinyl release also includes special renditions, giving fans a unique way to revisit or discover the album two decades on.
He also revisited “Watch Over Me” with Kasey Chambers and Clare Bowditch on the anniversary release. Reimagined at his Brooklet Studio with Nick DiDia, the song captures the emotional heart of their iconic 2006 ARIA Awards performance.
For complete tour and ticket information, see here.
