|
 |
Tex, Don & Charlie + The Darling Downs, Mick Harvey Govornor Hindmarsh Hotel, Sun 20 Nov  With
a line up like this one it was no surprise that there was a line up
to go through The Gov's new box office window even though it was still
light outside. Word that Mick Harvey was opening the show was out
and no one wanted to miss the Bad Seed. The very decorous Harvey's
set was informal and almost a soundcheck as he came to grips with
the on stage sound problems. He played a few songs from his recently
released solo album on acoustic guitar plus a version of the Serge
Gainsbourg's Bonnie & Clyde with the house band. I dare say
a few folks came on the strength of his name alone and would have
loved a full set. The Darling Downs are just two men, but those two men are Kim Salmon and Ron Peno, former vocalist for Died Pretty. Both besuited, funny looking fellas, Peno started singing with his hands before his vocal chords, lifting them like a conjurer or old style spiritualist; and at times his wide ranging vocal sounded like it too. Their old-time country had gospel pretensions, Peno looked and acted held by the power of his voice or the lyric or the crowd, while Salmon watched him almost agape. Golden moments came when they occasionally took flight together, as in Waste My Time. A very affecting, if epic, performance, though Harvey could have taken some of their set time for a few more songs. So by the time the main act took the stage - Tex Perkins and Don Walker and Charlie Owen, joined by a slide guitarist and a double bass player, and the return of Mick Harvey on drums - we had already been treated to new offerings from three of this country's most enduring alternative artists. Opening with Postcard From Elvis, already the crowd was glad to see and hear the return of the trio, as the men progressed through a large selection of songs from the new album 'All Is Forgiven', the lovely, gentle, yarns Paycheques, Whenever It Snows and The Singer Of The Song my favourites amongst them. A good number of songs also came from their 1993 debut 'Sad But True' - Danielle in particular was memorable and beautiful. Tex was amiable and playful, balancing his wine glass on Harvey's head and on another occasion tooling up to take on the pedal steel, as Don Walker's strange high vocal took the lead on his songs of desperate and dastardly men, such as Harry Was A Bad Bugger, Jails and Another Night In. In relaying their warm, Oz-rock take on alt-country, the tempo barely approached a canter, the soft wide bass provided a perfect balance for the wild solos of Owen - on electric or lap steel - such as in Words Fail Me. Salmon was brought out to play some kind of mouth guitar that unfortunately could not be heard, and later Tex insisted he come back and join in, though poor Kim didn't look to comfy about it. Peno looked slightly more at ease with nearly being crushed by Perkin's hug for the chorus of The Healing Sounds Of Helpless Laughter. Don closed the night's proceedings by obliging a request for Girl With A Bluebird to the delight of the crowd, with Tex's disembodied voice bidding farewell from offstage. These fellas have found the music to grow old with, and it is a clearly comfortable middle age.  |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine