Mary Gauthier at Brunswick Town Hall

Mary Gauthier at Brunswick Town Hall – 14/3/10

Rarely does one see such a powerful and affecting performance as that which Mary Gauthier performed last night at Brunswick Town Hall.

From my seat in the front row, I could see how sincerely Mary sang her words. It was like seeing her lay bare her soul, in fact it was pretty well amazing from start to finish.

Us lucky Aussies are probably the first to see Mary Gauthier perform her new CD, The Foundling, which was indeed what she did last night. She sang it in its entirety from start to finish. The Foundling is a concept album, and tells “the story of a child abandoned at birth who spent a year in an orphanage and was adopted, who ran way from the adopted home and ended up in show business, who searched for birth parents late in life and found one and was rejected, and who came thru the other side of all this still believing in love” (from Mary Gauthier’s website).

The story is Mary’s own heartbreaking history. The CD was released in Australia last week to coincide with her tour.

The photo above was taken while she was singing The Orphan King, a song that affirms a belief in love and salvation.

Before launching into her saga, Mary sang three songs from her back catalogue – Last of the Hobo Kings, I Drink (requested) and Between the Daylight and the Dark, the title track of her previous CD.

She was ably supported through her set by Ed Romanoff, who provided tasteful guitar and backing vocals.

Ed Romanoff & Mary Gauthier

The show lasted about one and a half hours, with Mary returning for an encore of two songs – Mercy Now and Killing The Blues a much covered song written by Rowland Salley.

It's a good venue, the Brunswick Town Hall - small and intimate - and it was a relief to be sitting down after the sticky carpet situation at East Brunswick Club. Actually, I'll have to face that again next Sunday night when I'm going to see Truckstop Honeymoon, which is a recent addition to the shows I'm anticipating after friends persuaded me to go.

Set List

1. Last of the Hobo Kings
2. I Drink
3. Between the Daylight & the Dark

The Foundling

1. The Foundling
2. Mama Here, Mama Gone
3. Goodbye
4. Sideshow
5. Interludes
6. Blood is Blood
7. March 11, 1962
8. Walk in the Water
9. Interlude 2
10. Sweet Words
11. The Orphan King
12. Another Day Borrowed
13. Coda

Encore

1. Mercy Now
2. Killing The Blues