Karl Broadie @ Basement Discs

Icy winds and sporadic rain gave a fine impression of a return to winter today, but I braved the elements and made it down to the Basement Discs to watch Karl Broadie perform in store. It also meant wading through crowds of people in the city to see the AFL Grand Final parade.

The AFL Grand Final is on tomorrow, so the city was full of people wearing the team colours of the two teams who will be competing, Geelong and Port Adelaide. My interest in football is minimal these days, but I suppose I will be barracking for Geelong tomorrow.

Anyway back to Karl Broadie. Karl is a Scottish born singer songwriter who now lives in Sydney. He is touring to promote his latest CD One Million Emeralds and will also be the support act fro Patty Griffin during her Australian tour in November. He is an engaging performer and a friendly and charming person to meet.

Karl’s songs are classic singer songwriter stuff – a mix of country, folk and pop. His voice has a pleasing gritty hoarse quality that reminds me somewhat of Irish artist, Bap Kennedy and also there’s a touch of Australian icon Paul Kelly who is an obvious influence on Karl’s song writing.

Accompanied by John Kendall, who played fiddle and sang harmony vocals, Karl’s in store mini show was a very pleasant interlude in an otherwise sports crazy day. He naturally sang several songs from the new album. You can listen to some of his songs on his My Space page. His earlier CD Black Crow Callin’ is also worth checking out.

Tomorrow afternoon, despite not being all that interested, I‘ll be watching the Grand Final at a pub with friends. It’s sort of a tradition that the footy final is also a social occasion, which is the reason I will be present as it’s much more fun to watch the football in a crowd.