Music Master–Tim O’Brien at Caravan Music Club

Tim O’Brien live at Caravan Music Club – 11/1/17

Caravan Music Club, out in the wilds of Oakleigh, on the other side of the Yarra, is a fair way from where I live. But it’s such a pleasant venue that the long trek getting there is generally worth the effort.

Such was the case last night, where we saw American master musician Tim O’Brien show off his expertise on guitar, violin and mandolin in a one man show.

Tim O’Brien last toured Australia in 2011, and I had the good fortune to see him perform at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and at the now extinct East Brunswick Club.

As well as being a whiz on various instruments, Tim also has a great singing voice, a warm tenor that suits the kind of music he favours – bluegrass, folk and gospel.

He started his show with one of his own compositions Workin’ a sort of Dylanish monologue detailing various work scenarios. Señor, a Dylan song he recorded on his wonderful Bob Dylan bluegrass tribute album Red On Blonde, followed, and provided an interesting and appropriate segue.

He changed the mood with a traditional English folk ballad Pretty Fair Lady In The Garden, then performed the comical title song from his latest record Pompadour.

Quite a few of the songs on the night were from the Pompadour album.

Tim O’Brien is touring Australia in the company of his partner, Jan Fabricious, whom he invited on stage to sing harmony in the next few songs – Wichita, I Gotta Move, What Happened To Me and Go Down To The Water.

Jan Fabricious at Caravan Music Club 11/1/17

And so the night progressed, Tim switching from guitar to fiddle to mandolin, singing or playing 22 tunes in his main set.

I was a tad disappointed he didn’t play banjo, but you can’t have everything.

Tim O’Brien live at Caravan Music Club 11/1/17

Several of the tunes were instrumental, such as traditional fiddle tunes like Ditty Boy Twang, Say Old Man and Kid On The Mountain, but the whole show was varied in terms of musical styles, making it a very enjoyable and engaging concert.

There was a good crowd in attendance, many of my vintage, who all appreciated the rare pleasure of watching Tim O”Brien play his instruments so effortlessly and with masterful skill.

Set List (stolen from the stage)

Tim O’Brien Set List for 11/1/17

Set List Translated (to the best of my ability)

1. Workin’
2. Señor
3. Pretty Fair Maid In The Garden
4. Pompadour
5. Wichita
6. I Gotta Move
7. Whatever Happened To Me
8. Go Down To the Water
9. You Were On My Mind This Morning
10. Say Old Man (fiddle tune)
11. Working On A Building
12. Ditty Boy Twang
13. Kid On The Mountain
14. Not Afraid Of Dying
15. I’m A Mess For You
16. Brother Wind
17. Jack of Diamonds (Drunkard’s Hiccups)/The Crossing
18. Nellie Kane
19. The Tulips On the Table
20. Gentle On My Mind (John Hartford cover by special request)
21. The Water Is Wise
22. Look Down That Lonesome Road

Encore

Before This Time Another Year

The Dulcet Tones of Liz Stringer & Suzannah Espie at Caravan Music Club

Liz Stringer at Caravan Music Club – 15 April 2016

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a concert at the outer suburban  music oasis of Caravan Music Club once again.

This time it was to see local female singer songwriters Liz Stringer and Suzannah Espie.

I have seen both artists before when I used to patronise the Basement Discs, but not for several years, so I was looking forward to seeing them performing their wonderful songs.

The show started with a short set by Liz Stringer who showcased several of her songs solo, accompanying herself on guitar. She’s acknowledged as one of the best songwriters in Australia and at the tender age of 25 she performs with a maturity beyond her years.  She released her first record at the age of 15.

Liz Stringer at Caravan Music Club – 15 April 2016

There was brief interval after Liz’s set, then she returned to the stage with Suzannah Espie where it was explained that each would sing a few of their own songs turn about, whilst providing backing vocals and accompaniment to each other.

Suzannah Espie at Caravan Music Club – 15 April 2016

They sounded lovely together, Suzannah’s sweeter timbred voice blending with Liz’s contralto in luscious harmonies.

I can’t remember all the songs sung, and didn’t take notes, but the ones that stuck in my mind included Suzannah’s great songs Rosedale and Bluebird Boots, and Liz’s High Open Hills and Angela.

Suzannah Espie at Caravan Music Club  - 15 April 2016

Suzannah also performed the title track of her latest album Mother’s Not Feeling Herself Today, an album of songs relating to her recent status as a mother and the change it wrought on her life. The song itself is sung as a honky tonker.

They finished the night with one of my all time favourite songs, a cover of The Dark End Of The Street, originally written by Dan Penn, but performed by many other artists over the years – Gram Parsons and Ry Cooder for example.

It was a splendid evening of musical entertainment.  Liz Stringer and Suzannah Espie are fine representatives of the Melbourne music scene, and both are superb singers and songwriters.

Check them out, you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you haven’t heard of them before.

I have no other musical treats on the horizon, but I dare say there will be more before too long.

November Music

During the past month I have been to three concerts, only one of which featured International artists, the others being performed by local musicians.

Fleetwood Mac at Rod Laver Arena - 4 November 2015

The first was the Fleetwood Mac concert at Rod Laver Arena on the day after the Melbourne Cup.  I never was a big Fleetwood Mac fan, but of course their songs were familiar, so I went along with an open mind and enjoyed the the concert, it exceeding my expectations over all.

Fleetwood Mac played for over 2½ hours and their set covered 19 songs with the band returning for two encores.  They played all their hits, Rhiannon, Go Your Own Way, Landslide, The Chain and You Make Loving Fun etc.

We (that is my ex neighbour B & I) travelled to St Kilda for the second show on the 14th November,  a concert celebrating Neil Young’s 70th Birthday at Memo Music Hall.

A sterling line up of local Melbourne musicians performed songs from Neil Young’s repertoire over several hours.  Led by guitar maestro Shane O’Mara and his ace band,  it featured Lisa Miller, Rebecca Barnard, Chris Wilson & Sarah Carroll, Angie Hart, Nick Barker, Gallie and Simon Bailey.

It was the first time I’d been to the venue, which is run by the same mob who manage Caravan Music Club. It is a comfortable space at the back of St Kilda RSL in Acland Street.  I’d certainly go there again.

Angie Hart – Memo 14 November 2015

The concert was excellent, with the various artists presenting great versions of Neil Young’s songs, including Old Man, Wrecking Ball, Needle & The Damage Done etc, etc.

Nick Barker – Memo 14 November 2015

Gallie – Memo 14 November 2015

Chris Wilson – Memo 14 November 2015

Shane O’Mara – Memo 14 November 2015

An Evening With Robert Forster was the most recent concert I attended and it was closer to home at Thornbury Theatre.

Robert Forster live at Thornbury Theatre 27/11/15

I must admit I am not familiar with the career of Robert Forster  formerly of the Go-Betweens, and would not have thought of attending the show if I hadn’t been invited by ex neighbour B to go. 

He is acknowledged as one of  Australia’s top singer songwriters and writes clever quirky songs that are performed with great panache. His music reminded me of Talking Heads and I believe they were one of his major influences along with Lou Reed and the 1970s New York rock scene.

He had two support acts, the first being a David Bowie tribute band, The Thin White Ukes. As their band name suggests they perform David Bowie songs with ukuleles and are very entertaining. They are Betty France (soprano ukulele) Michael Dwyer (concert ukulele) Rob Stephens (baritone ukulele).

The Thin White Ukes live at Thornbury Theatre 27/11/15

They played a short set of David Bowie songs that included Starman. Ashes to Ashes and Golden Years.

Jen Cloher, singer songwriter partner to Aria winner Courtney Barnett was the second support and played a gritty set of tunes from her repertoire and included one Gillian Welch cover, Everything Is Free, in the mix.  I have never listened to her music before so wouldn’t have a clue as to the names of her songs, though she did mention the name of two of them, one written when she was in New Zealand to care for her ailing parents and entitled My Mother’s Desk and the other called Mount Beauty about obsessive love.

Jen Cloher live at Thornbury Theatre 27/11/15

She also called The Thin White Ukes back to the stage for two songs.

Jen Cloher & Betty France live at Thornbury Theatre 27/11/15

With the two support acts warming up the audience for over an hour, it was quite late in the evening when Robert Forster and his excellent band took the stage.

Robert Forster live at Thornbury Theatre 27/11/15

They were worth waiting for and from the first song, I knew I was going to enjoy his act enormously and continued to be beguiled throughout his set.

He has recently released his first new album in seven years, entitled Songs To Play, and has been touring in support of it.

Several songs from the record were performed on the night - Songwriters On The Run and I Love Myself (And I Always Have), Turn On The Rain are three I recognise from the night

I must say his band was terrific. They were Scott Bramley and Luke McDonald of The John Steel Singers playing guitar, keyboards and bass, and Robert Forster’s wife Karin Baumler contributed  tasteful violin and backing vocals.

Scott Bramley & Luke McDonald – Thornbury Theatre 27/11/15

On December 11th B and I return to the Caravan Music Club for Jeff Duff’s  Bowie Unzipped performance. I’m not sure what to expect, but no doubt it will be entertaining and unusual, so thanks B for the invitation and for expanding my musical horizons with shows I normally wouldn’t attend.

The big news last week was of a return tour by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings after an absence of 11 years. They’re doing two shows in Melbourne, one with the regular duo, the other with the band known as The David Rawlings Machine a fortnight later.  I intend to go to both, and have tickets already for the second concert, buying them this morning on the pre-sale. Amazingly, I managed to score really good seats. Hopefully at the public sale tomorrow, I can get seats of equal quality for the first concert – cross fingers I get lucky.

Shane Nicholson Lets Hell Break Loose at the Caravan Music Club

Shane Nicholson – Caravan Music Club – 8 August 2015

It was great to back in the wilds of Oakleigh at the Caravan Music Club, especially as one of my favourite Australian singer-songwriters was the star act.

I discovered Shane Nicholson way back in 2003 when he opened for a Kasey Chambers concert at the Palais in St Kilda, where I was so impressed by his performance that I sought out his debut solo CD It’s A Movie the next day. I still play it every so often and consider it has weathered the test of time remarkably well.

On Saturday night, Shane was launching his new album, Hell Breaks Loose, which had been released the day before. It has been widely praised by the critics – Rolling Stone Magazine gave it 4 stars – so I was really looking forward to hearing the new songs, and also picking up a copy of the CD at the concert.

The Weeping Willows (Andy Wrigglesworth and Laura Coates), who I recently witnessed opening for Iris Dement, were the support act for Shane Nicholson as well. My impression, seeing them for a second time, was that they had improved and appeared much more confident and upbeat in their performance.

They played a delightfully engaging set, many of the songs being newly composed for their forthcoming second, Pozible crowd funded, record. These included River of Gold, Travelling Man, Forgotten Flowers and Garden of Tears.

It is public knowledge that Shane Nicholson has separated from Kasey Chambers, his wife of six years. Shane claims that the new record is not a “break up” album. He admits that it is heavy in tone, but added that he liked “heavy” and that he was generally happy in his single state.

On Saturday night a number of songs from Hell Breaks Loose were played, but the majority of the 21 song set were either drawn from his earlier albums or covers of other artists.

Shane kicked off his set with new single Second Hand Man, then harked back to his collaboration with Kasey Chambers, singing Wreck & Ruin, the title track from their second joint album. That was followed by a song from Shane’s most recent solo studio recording, Bad Machines, the song being Jimmie Rodgers Was A Vampire.

The show promo advertised Shane Nicholson as appearing with a very special surprise guest.  This turned out to be Melody Pool, whom I have previously seen when she opened for the 2013 Milk Carton Kids concert at Thornbury Theatre.

She added her lovely voice to two of the covers, Stop Dragging My Heart Around, a Tom Petty penned song made famous by Stevie Nicks, and Believing from the Nashville TV Series.  She also sang lead vocals on a new song of her own, Black Dog, a bleak but powerful song about depression.

Melody Pool at Caravan Music Club -  8 August 2015

The songs from Shane’s new record sounded fantastic. He has a deft way with words and writes wonderful lyrics. Particularly moving was Single Fathers and Hermannsburg, the latter composed during a visit with his friend, Aboriginal singer songwriter, Warren H Williams in the Outback.

Towards the end of Shane’s set, he summoned The Weeping Willows to the stage, along with Melody Pool and they gathered around a single microphone to sing John Prine’s The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.

 
The Weeping Willows, Melody Pool & Shane Nicholson

Supporting Shane through most of his set was *John Bedggood who played  tasteful fiddle and mandolin, whilst Shane stuck to guitar and occasionally tickled the piano keys.

As it has been several years since I have seen Shane Nicholson live, it was a rare pleasure to attend the concert at Caravan Music Club. It was a sell out, which must have been heart warming for Shane as I recall seeing him at the now defunct East Brunswick Club back in 2006 where only a handful of people showed up.

He has now won several music awards over the ensuing years, and has finally been recognised as one of the best singer-songwriters in Australia.

I wish him every success with Hell Breaks Loose.

SET LISTS

THE WEEPING WILLOWS SET LIST

1. Down Below
2. River of Gold
3. Forever In My Dreams
4. Falling Rain
5. Travelling Man
6. Forgotten Flowers
7. ?
8. Garden of Tears
9. Devil ?
10. ?
11. Sixteen Feet of Stone

SHANE NICHOLSON SET LIST

1. Second Hand Man
2. Wreck & Ruin
3. Jimmie Rodgers Was A Vampire
4. The Quiet Life
5. Weight of the World
6. Hell Breaks Loose
7. Monkey On A Wire
8. Home
9. Rattlin’ Bones
10. Irons & Chains
11. Single Fathers
12. Stop Dragging My Heart Around (Tom Petty)
13. Believing (Nashville TV Series)
14. Black Dog (Melody Pool)
15. Woe Is Mine
16. Once In A While
17. The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness (John Prine)
18. Flat Nail Joe

Encore

1. Hermannsburg
2. House That Never Was
3. Never Been To Spain (Waylon Jennings)

* Thanks to the anonymous commenter for supplying the name of Shane’s support musician.

Blue Stars & Birthday Greetings–Ryan Adams Shines at the Forum Theatre

Ryan Adams rocking out at the Forum Theatre 19/7/15

It was a chilly night in old Melbourne town last Sunday evening, and  keen fans queued early to get good positions in the general admission sold out show, myself among them (I arrived at around 6.25). There was a delay in opening the doors, so it was around 7.20pm that the audience was finally permitted to enter the lavish interior of the Forum Theatre, where the Gods smile down on the masses from their plinths on the walls and along the aisles.

I was disappointed to discover that my favourite booth up the front, along with the other front booths, was reserved. It was my understanding that General Admission is on a first come, first served basis and I was unaware that seats could be booked.

So, unwilling at my age to stand for hours in the mosh pit, I was obliged to grab what seating I could  farther back than I would have liked – hence the less than perfect photos I managed to snap.

All the above inconveniences were more than compensated for by the quality of entertainment on offer, and that included the support act, American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis.

Jenny Lewis live at the Forum Theatre 19/7/15

Admittedly I am not all that au fait with Jenny Lewis’ artistic output, possessing only Rabbit Fur Coat in my CD collection, which I have not listened to for years. Her latest record Voyager was produced by Ryan Adams, so naturally she sang a few songs from it, Just One Of The Guys and She’s Not Me are the tunes I recognised from my You Tube research on the artist leading up the show. Originally she was associated with rock band Rilo Kiley and in my opinion the songs she played last night from that era of her career were the winners. Acid Tongue is a great song from her first solo record, whereas Portions For Foxes  dates back to her time with Rilo Kiley.

Her set was engaging and entertaining and she looked a treat playing her rainbow hued guitar, dressed in a white trouser suit.  She had an ace band supporting her, but I’m unable to find details of their names, though several were female.

Ryan Adams and The Shining trooped onto the stage at around 9.15pm and instantly launched into the first track on the recent Ryan Adams Self Titled album, Gimme Something Good, closely following that with the bouncy Let It Ride from Cold Roses.

I felt the first half of the show was a little flat, but the band warmed up over the two hours they played and by the end of the night I was totally enthralled. The set list encompassed songs from most of Ryan Adams back catalogue of albums and included many favourites of mine – Oh My Sweet Carolina (Jenny Lewis joined him for this), When The Stars Go Blue, La Cienega Just Smiled, and particularly Sweet Illusions, rarely performed live, which I was really hoping he would sing. There were other rarities, in terms of the concerts I have witnessed, like I See Monsters, Nobody Girl and To Be Young.

It was mostly a rock n roll concert with several songs ending in extended jams, where Ryan was able to channel his inner rock child. Quieter ballads were interspersed with the rockier numbers so it was a wisely chosen sequence of songs.

The last few Ryan Adams shows I have attended were dimly lit, but Sunday night you could actually see Ryan’s face distinctly. He suffers from Meniere’s Disease, an affliction of the inner ear, and bright flashing lights exacerbate the problem. He obviously is concerned about the lighting in his shows, and found a sympathetic lighting technician in Gigi to whom he composed a Happy Birthday song off the cuff in gratitude. It was funny and clever. He also passed a birthday cake into the audience to be delivered to the lady in question in the lighting section at the middle of the theatre.

Gigi created some wonderful lighting effects, the twinkling blue stars in the background being particularly appropriate.

The Shining are a completely different band to the Cardinals (Ryan Adams former band) both in style and sound. The Cardinals had a touch of country twang and gorgeous ringing guitars, whereas The Shining are more a straight rock n roll band. They are guitarist Mike Viola,  bassist Charlie Stavish, drummer Freddie Bokkenheuser and keyboardist Daniel Clarke.

It was great to hear New York, New York played in the fast tempo it was originally recorded in. All the previous times I’ve seen Ryan Adams live, it has been sung in a distinctly slow bluesy fashion – very nice too.

I ended up not going to the second concert, as the friend I was accompanying cried off, so I found another taker for the tickets, a Ryan Adams fan, who was pleased to purchase them at a discounted price.

Ryan Adams and The Shining played for a solid two hours, so it was after midnight by the time I got home. As a result I felt rather tired yesterday, so felt relieved I did not have to go through the hassle of getting to the theatre, waiting in the queue etc. etc. again.

And the verdict?

Every Ryan Adams concert I have attended (seven now) has been different and you never really know what to expect. This year’s concert was probably not the best I’ve seen, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless. I’ve always thought that the Cardinals show at the Forum in January 2009 was the best, closely followed by his solo show at The Regent in March 2012. Sunday’s show is probably my third favourite Ryan Adams concert.

Anyway, it’s always a thrill to see Ryan Adams live in concert – I’ll certainly attend for as long as I am able.

Ryan Adams Set List

1. Gimme Something Good (Self Titled)
2. Let It Ride (Cold Roses)
3. Stay With Me (Self Titled)
4. Dirty Rain (Ashes & Fire)
5. This House Is Not For Sale (Love Is Hell)
6. Dear Chicago (Demolition)
7. Magnolia Mountain (Cold Roses)
8. My Winding Wheel (Heartbreaker)
9. To Be Young (Heartbreaker)
10. Peaceful Valley (Jacksonville City Nights)
11. Kim (Self Titled)
12. Oh My Sweet Carolina (Heartbreaker)
13. When the Stars Go Blue (Gold)
14. Shakedown on 9th Street (Heartbreaker)
15. My Baby Don't Understand Me (Natalie Prass cover)
16. New York, New York (Gold)
17. Improv song: happy birthday GiGi
18. I See Monsters (Love Is Hell)
19. Sweet Illusions (Cold Roses)
20. La Cienega Just Smiled (Gold)
21. Trouble (Self Titled)
22. Nobody Girl (Gold)

Encore

1. Come Pick Me Up (Heartbreaker)

My next musical treat is Shane Nicholson at Caravan Music Club on 8th August. He has a new album “Hell Breaks Loose” and will be launching it at the Caravan.

A Musical Interlude–Kevin & Dustin Welch at the Caravan Music Club

R to L –Kevin & Dustin Welch live at Caravan Music Club – 28/3/15

What a pleasure it was to be back in the urban wilds of Oakleigh at the Caravan Music Club! It has to be one of the best music venues in Melbourne, so it’s a pity it is so far away from where I live.

However, last night, after taking up the offer of a ticket from our neighbour B, I got to attend a wonderful concert by US singer songwriters, father and son duo Kevin Welch and Dustin Welch.

Kevin Welch is no stranger to these shores having toured here many times with fellow Dead Reckoner Kieran Kane. I first saw them in November 1999 at the Continental Cafe and like everyone who was present on the night, was blown away by their performance.

This is Dustin Welch’s first tour of Australia but he has been making a name for himself in his home country as an accomplished multi instrumentalist and literate lyricist.

He and his dad make a dynamic duo, sharing a taste for the same type of music, as well as having a ‘chip off the old block ‘ similarity in voices and delivery.

The evening was kicked off by local singer songwriter Dan Waters, who performed a mesmerising set, mostly comprised of songs from his debut album La Vita E Bella. Typified by his dry as a dust bowl delivery that reminds me of James McMurtry, and others of Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash, his gritty urban ballads of low life and desperation grow on you as you listen to the words.

Dan Waters live at Caravan Music Club – 28/3/15

Included in his set was the terrific Guilt And Shame, Didn’t Mean To Hurt No-One, and Heat of December.

There was a short break after Dan Waters’ set, after which the main act assumed the stage and played for something like two hours, taking turn about to sing songs from their dual repertoires with each providing vocal and instrumental accompaniment to the other.

The first song, sung by Kevin Welch was The Great Emancipation, one I had not heard before. In the main Kevin played mostly new songs, but there were several familiar tunes among them, such as Postcard From Mexico, Millionaire, Jersey Devil, Train To Birmingham and Marysville, a song he wrote in response to the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009.

Kevin Welch – looking older than when I last saw him

Of course I’d never heard any of Dustin Welch’s songs, so they were all new to me.  I was particularly taken with Sparrows, Paranoid Heart Poor House, Cannonball Girl and Whisky Priest, a song inspired by the Graham Greene novel  The Power and the Glory.

Dustin Welch live at Caravan Music Club – 28/3/15

Just about every time I’ve seen Kevin Welch in concert, he has experienced problems with his guitar. This time a string broke, a brief way into the set, so he was obliged to borrow Dan Waters’ instrument which he played for the rest of the night.

Dustin had no trouble with his instruments – banjo, slide guitar and acoustic guitar. And he certainly knew how to play them.

It was a great show by two consummate showmen, one young, one old, the family relationship creating a marvellously engaging listening experience.

Here’s a video of Kevin & Dustin performing Postcard From Mexico

Kevin & Dustin Welch Set list
Caravan Music Club (28/3/15)

1. The Great Emancipation
2. Postcard From Mexico (David Olney cover)
3. Paranoid Heart
4. Marysville
5. Sparrows
6. The Flower
7. The Lower East Side (co written with JTE)
8. Millionaire
9. Poor House
10. Come A Rain
11. Cannonball Girl
12. Dust Devil
13. Two Horses
14. Jersey Devil
15. Don’t Tell Em Nothin’ (co written with Cary Ann Hearst)
16. Train To Birmingham (John Hiatt cover)
17. After The Music’s Gone
18. Patch Of Blue Sky
19. Whisky Priest

Encore

Too Old To Die Young

I’m anticipating several musical treats in the coming months. First up in April is the exhilarating Pokey La Farge, followed by the soulfully beautiful Iris Dement in May, whilst in June I have tickets for the Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell concert at the Palais which promises to be a ripper.

An Unexpected & Amazing Musical Treat – David Olney & Sergio Webb at Caravan Music Club

“My idea of a good time is getting in front of an audience and giving them more than they expected.” David Olney

David Olney live at Caravan Music Club – 6/4/13

The neighbour from whom we adopted Talya, having a spare ticket, asked me if I was interested in going to see David Olney & Sergio Webb at the Caravan Music Club. I jumped at the chance, as I have always admired David Olney’s song writing and was somewhat regretting that I hadn’t gone to see the duo at the Brunswick Music Festival when I had the opportunity.

The Caravan Music Club, in the heart of outer suburbia at Oakleigh, is not a venue I get to go to all that often. It’s just too far from home, which is a pity as it’s a great venue – quaint and old fashioned, with a pleasant ambience.

This was the first time David Olney has toured Australia. He is not well known in these parts, but he is acknowledged elsewhere as a pioneer songwriter of the Americana music genre. His songs have been covered by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Tim O’Brien, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Earle among others, and he was part of the legendary 1970s Nashville group that included Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zant and Rodney Crowell, who revolutionised country and folk music.

‘Two men on stage, one looking like a 1950s private eye and the other like he just stepped off a spaghetti western movie set. One a master story teller and the other an ace guitar picker.”

David Olney is not one of your dulcet singer songwriters. His act is riveting and gritty. His mode of performance is a mix of the spoken word and singing, as he takes on the characters of his songs. There’s the French Prostitute in 1917, the desperados  in Wait Here For The Cops and Postcard From Mexico, the crooked medicine man in Jerusalem Tomorrow, to name a few. The music is more rock that folk and this is where Sergio Webb shines…

Sergio Webb  live at Caravan Music Club- 6/4/13

He can play the electric guitar like a demon, or delicately – drawing a cello like sound from it, as he did, when the duo performed 1917, a tender ballad set in Paris during the first world war. His style is flamboyant, scintillating to watch and he is a master of his instrument. He adds an essential element to the drama of the duo’s act.

I tried to note the set list but can’t work out the whole list.  Songs included Upside Down, Little Sparrow (a song about Edith Piaf), If I Were You, Deeper Well (covered by Emmylou Harris on her Wrecking Ball CD), Go down Dupree, If My Eyes Were Blind, Covington Girl, Johnson City Blues and many more.

The opening act is also worthy of a mention. It was Bill Jackson and Peter Fidler, who were a quality act. Bill Jackson is a local songwriter and Peter Fidler is a maestro of the dobro. Bill Jackson’s voice and songs reminded me of Guy Clark most of all. Several were story songs, covering Australian History, for instance one song, called Jerilderie, was about the Kelly gang’s hi jinks in that town in 1879.

 
Bill Jackson & Peter Fidler live at Caravan Music Club 6/4/13

The David Olney & Sergio Webb show defies description. It was highly unusual, exciting, thoroughly engrossing and over too soon.

Check them out doing Wait Here For The Cops below and you’ll see what I mean.

The Real Deal – Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen

Chris Hillman & Herb Pederson live at Caravan Music Club

From the first song of Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen’s set, I felt cast back in time, back to heady days of my youth in the 1960s and ‘70s. It was that inimitable sound of the times that was emanating from the stage - sweet country rock redolent with superb harmonies and masterly musicianship.

They started with a couple of  Desert Rose Band songs, first the appropriately called Desert Rose, followed by She Don’t Love Nobody, a song written by John Hiatt.  Turn Turn Turn, the famous Pete Seeger song, which was a big hit for The Byrds in 1965, was next. The lyrics are drawn from The Book of Ecclesiastes, so Chris Hillman informed us.

Herb Pedersen was associated with The Dillards, a legendary bluegrass band, and introduced the next song as one of their standards – Close The Door Lightly.

And so the concert proceeded with Chris & Herb ranging through their back catalogue, many of the songs being familiar to those of us who grew up with the songs on our record players or on the radio. For instance the fabulous Sin City written by Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons  for The Flying Burrito Brothers influential record Gilded Palace of Sin, Dylan’s Mr Tambourine Man, which contains the wonderful line “In the jingle jangle morning…” and  Bells of Rhymney another Pete Seeger song. I hadn’t heard many of these songs for decades, but as is the case with music, it’s amazing how you can still remember the words.

They played 20 songs in all, including the encore, and finished their main set with So You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.

It was a great show, by two legends of folk/rock, country/rock fame. They proved that the genuine sound of the era from which they came, cannot be imitated. It was the real thing.

The Caravan Music Club is a great venue – it has an old fashioned ambience and is part of the Oakleigh RSL  It’s a pity it’s so far from home, because it’s one of the best venues in Melbourne.

Set List

1. Desert Rose
2. She Don’t Love Nobody
3. Turn, Turn, Turn
4. Close The Door Lightly
5. If I Could Only Win Your Love
6. Sin City
7. Bells of Rhymney
8. Devil In Disguise
9. Nevertheless I’m In Love With You
10. Hey Boys
11. Rank Stranger
12. Old Crossroads
13. Mr Tambourine Man
14. Old Train
15. Rangers Command
16. Doesn’t Mean Much Anymore
17. Eight Miles High
18. Wait A Minute
19. So You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star

Encore:

1. Heaven’s Lullaby

More Soul – two diverse in store performances at Basement Discs

This week Basement Discs hosted two very different, nevertheless very talented young artists from the USA. 

The first of these was Krystle Warren (pictured above) who is touring Australia for the first time, and performed a moving and unusual short set, in store on Wednesday.  Her music is minimalist, but her voice and songs more than make up for it, her songs being masterful tales of love gained and lost, and her voice being soulful and expressive . She has been compared to Joni Mitchell in the way she she uses her voice, but I thought she sounded a bit like Joan Armatrading.

  

Today the engaging and genial Ben Sollee entertained the lunchtime crowd at Basement Discs with a charming performance, showcasing his expertise on his instrument of choice, the cello.

He hails from Kentucky and grew up in a musical family, adopting the cello when he was in high school - he fell in love with the weird sounds it can make, so he explained. He trained in classical music but was influenced by the jazz, blues and celtic music of his family. This explains his unusual approach to playing the cello, which covers all the aforementioned genres and then some.

He is also a very gifted song writer and has a pleasant singing voice - a sweet tenor.

Next up at Basement Discs is the wonderful Eilen Jewell on Friday 23rd March. I’ll be seeing her the night before at the Corner Hotel, but still wouldn’t miss her intimate in store for quids.

This Saturday, I am for the first time going to the Caravan Music Club in Oakleigh, rather a long trek for us in the north of the city, but purported to be a great venue. It should be worth the effort as Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen are playing.  Chris Hillman is one of the pioneers of country rock, and played in such bands as The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and Desert Rose.