Camp Cope played their final Melbourne shows over the weekend, farewelling their hometown with a pair of intimate gigs at Estonian House for Brunswick Music Festival. The band played an all-ages afternoon matinee show along with an evening gig on Saturday, 11th March. Barkaa opened the latter show.
Camp Cope played favourites from all their three studio albums – their self-titled 2016 debut, 2018’s How to Socialise & Make Friends and last year’s Running with the Hurricane. Included on the setlist were favourites like ‘Done’, ‘Keep Growing’, ‘Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams’ and ‘Lost (Season One)’. The band closed with ‘The Opener’, a fiery How to Socialise & Make Friends cut that encapsulates the message of women’s rights and inclusion they championed throughout their career.
See Camp Cope Play Their Final Melbourne Show
Melbourne singer-songwriter Angie McMahon joined the band for two songs: ‘The Screaming Planet and ‘Sing Your Heart Out’, both from last year’s Running with the Hurricane.
As the band performed, a slideshow created by frontwoman Georgia Maq featuring messages of farewell and solidarity with trans rights were shown. “Find the three biggest bitches in your city and start a band,” read one message.
Camp Cope announced in February that they were breaking up, eight years after their 2015 formation. “Can’t think of a more fitting farewell,” the band wrote on Instagram when announcing their Brunswick Music Festival gig. “This is a special one – our LAST EVER Naarm/Melbourne show.”
“I love Camp Cope and all we’ve done, we’ve done together. Thank you,” Maq tweeted at the time. Drummer Sarah Thompson tweeted: “Thanks to all the ppl who were there through the thick & thin. the music industry is a bin fire but that can be dealt with when you have the legends you all are keeping you sane. fire your manager, burn the joint down, morals over $.”
Further Reading
Camp Cope Announce They Are Breaking Up
Watch Camp Cope’s Video for ‘Running With the Hurricane’
Watch Camp Cope Make Their US TV Debut, Perform ‘Sing Your Heart Out’
