IT was a performance to be remembered as Powderfinger said their goodbyes to regional Australia last night.For two hours, the iconic Australian rock outfit delighted 10,000 fans in a giant tent at Ballarat’s North Gardens.Despite inclement weather turning the floor of the tent to a thick, muddy sludge, fans braved the conditions to sing at the top of their lungs to the band’s greatest hits.Paul Dempsey opened the concert, playing a variety of his solo songs, Something for Kate hits and even an MGMT cover.Melbourne rockers Jet were up next, the band supporting Powderfinger on the majority of the Sunsets Tour shows.But the crowd erupted as Powderfinger, led by frontman Bernard Fanning, took to the stage.“Springtime in Ballarat, you can just smell the pollen on the breeze,” he joked, as the rain began to fall outside the tent.The band played a string of their most popular hits, before the stage darkened and a strange montage of Russian space footage was projected onto the screens on each side of the stage.Shortly after, the band popped up on a small stage at the centre of the tent, much to the surprise of punters.One fan in particular stood out, nicknamed “Kermit” by Fanning, a man in a lime green, lycra bodysuit was pulled out of the audience to dance on the small stage.“That was amazing, those guys are legends,” the Heidleberg man, who preferred to remain anonymous, said after the show.Back on the main stage, Fanning teased crewmembers playing poker behind the bass amp before sharing memories of one of their early gigs in Ballarat, playing with the now defunct Retched Child in 1996.Stand out songs were easily My Happiness and Passenger, played back-to-back and accompanied by an impressive light show.They finished up with These Days and an elated crowd cheered as the five-piece bowed and threw guitar picks into the swell of people.The final verdict? One of the best events ever held in Ballarat, according to punters.“It was a fitting end to the long-standing career of one of Australia’s biggest rock groups,” Melbourne’s Scott Ivey said.“Every song was a hit, there was no filler.“Bernard Fanning is one of the great male vocalists of Australian rock music.”Get The Courier on Monday to read our exclusive interviews with Bernard Fanning and the band’s manager Paul Pittico.