As Silverchair hit the stage on their comeback tour, it was difficult to reconcile these three buffed musicians playing sophisticated pop music with the scruffy teenagers that took the world by storm 15 years ago on the tail end of grunge.
The band attacks its instruments as though it can hardly believe its own tale of transformation and survival.
But here they are, three old mates from Newcastle now in their late 20s, back with their first album in five years, Young Modern, which hasn't looked like leaving the top of the ARIA charts since it was released a month ago.
Talk about reinvention. The band's fifth album is a morass of sounds and styles, ranging from breezy and grandiose operatic pop, to glam rock, cabaret and whimsical circus ditties.
Despite the undeniable chemistry between drummer Ben Gillies and bassist Chris Joannou, this was the Daniel Johns show.
While humble and appreciative of the crowd's reception, he thanked them in the first person. "Thanks for coming to my show" he said.
When his lilting falsetto booms out on the pulsating single Straight Lines, he sounds as though he is fronting the best band in the country.
And his cover of Midnight Oil's I Don't Want to be the One, reaffirmed his support for Peter Garrett.
Johns seemed happier following his flamboyant, adventurous spirit than pumping out gloomy grunge by numbers. You get the feeling his best is yet to come.
The crowd, me included, were happy to join him on his latest crazy adventure.
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