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Ben Lee + New Buffalo, The Phobias Governor Hindmarsh, Sat 14 May  It's
good to be seeing crowds at gigs again. The dense sound of opening
locals The Phobias was probably at odds with the more stripped back
styles of the following two acts, but they were well within the broad
tastes of the gathered crowd, though vocalist Wayne Palmer definitely
reminded me of Thom Yorke. The music was very keyboard-heavy, complemented
by a bouncy looking drummer. The crowd were very receptive, giving
the band a healthy dose of applause afterwards.A shame, then, that New Buffalo didn't seem to get receive the same level of respect. Past shows in Adelaide have seen her come across as shy, to say the least. Her delicate, exquisite tunes require listeners to pay attention, but it seemed like a lot of people at The Gov didn't bother. Many of her songs, like I've Got You And You've Got Me were played solo on her guitar, showing a new dimension to the album versions; but while Ben Lee could be seen watching and enjoying the set from back stage, I couldn't enjoy it. Much of the crowd was talking, breaking my concentration. I don't know how she coped with the distraction. In fact, she cut one of her songs short. The foul mood generated by my annoyance faded away when a smiling Ben Lee followed his band on stage (what is it with his backing bands, anyway? They're always such strikingly good-looking young folk). Lee started off with Whatever It Is, continuing on with other songs from 'Awake Is The New Sleep', dedicating Begin to Frally Folds. The audience got into the set straight away, singing along from the get go. A solo acoustic set in the middle included a couple of songs from 'Breathing Tornados' and 'Hey You Yes You'. He also included a Theme From Top Gun/Walk This Way/Stairway To Heaven medley in the middle of I Wish I Was Him. Lee explained some of the stories behind the songs, and even occasionally talked them, warning us of the key changes in Nothing Much Happens, before giving us a rendition of Bruised, from 'The Bens' EP recorded with the Bens Kweller and Folds. In all, it was an extremely upbeat set. Gone were the introspective songs of previous albums. Most of this set obviously reflected the affirmative nature of the newest album, which in the light of this show is much more positive than previous efforts. Lee was smiling throughout, continually declaring how much fun he was having. I'm sure everyone else there had just as much.  |
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