Couple of weeks ago I went tand saw JTE at a packed out Factory Theatre in the People's Republic of Marrickville which was great but it wasn't enough so I ponied up the considerable ticket price for an intimate "secret show" at Gardel's Bar in Surry Hills. Gardel's is above Porteno, an Argentinian eatery which is the current it joint of our Harbour city (praised by Anthony Bourdain the other day.) I need to go back and eat there one day, it looked very cool going up the stairs to the bar. Finger food was included in the price and was definitely a higher class than your average party pies, the meat in the wee hamburgers in particular was deliciously smoky and richly flavoured.

The crowd definitely went with the location. I was the only one gauche enough to be wearing a JTE shirt and to turn my head when he walked through the crowd. The word "hipster" is pretty played out at this point but this is my scientific breakdown of the attendees by sartorial category.

He has come a long way in four years, that's for sure.

What hasn't changed is the presence and as usual he had everyone eating out of his heavily inked hands.

Here's a video I took.

Went to see John Hiatt at the Metro last Tuesday night. As previously lamented here that meant I had to miss Lucinda Williams who was a few blocks up the road at the State. It was a difficult choice but I chose the ability to get up the front and rock out at the Metro over having to sit and clap politely at the State. I haven't seen any big reviews of Lu but I can't possibly imagine it was anything less than sublime. So there can hardly be a higher compliment to JH to say I didn't regret missing Lu at all. It was a real greatest hits show, pulling out all the favourites (although alas not MY personal favourite 'Icy Blue Heart") and most everyone around me seemed to know all the words to all of them. I was in my preferred spot on the rail, front row centre. The vocal was a bit low up there (I always choose proximity over audio fidelity) as you'd expect but the band sounded great. It was a fantastic night.

I really wish I could leave it there but then dear old Bruce Elder had to go drop this pile in The Age/SMH and I am forced -- positively FORCED, I say -- to conduct a good old fashioned fisking. On one level it's just the usual tossed off nonsense, but on another whenever women have their existence in a public space so casually written off -- and our newspapers of record chuck it up as their official record of events -- we have a real problem.

Usual tossed off nonsense first! Bruce has a lot on his plate. He has to review books and music. He has to sniff out the pros and cons of various Southern Highland B&Bs so Fairfax readers can plan their long weekends. He is BUSY, y'all. So it's unreasonable to expect him to have a decent grasp of the canon of every act he gets paid to see. But then if you act like you do, you risk looking a fool.

John Hiatt plays music for blokes. He writes, sings and plays about those things that certain blokes relate to: electric guitars (no accident that the opening song was Perfectly Good Guitar and that for most of the 90-minute performance the band configuration was three guitars, bass and drums); the awfulness of being a male eager to escape the boredom of small-town life (Damn this Town), cars (Detroit Made and Drive South) and, when he occasionally gets around to love, it's the kind of tough love that blokes have to deal with - like the unexpected departure of his "baby" in Crossing Muddy Waters where he describes the event as "She let out this morning / Like a rusty shot in a hollow sky". Great imagery, but not exactly a sweet lament for lost love.

Jesus where to start. "Perfectly Good Guitar" is a tongue in cheek response to the habit of certain 60s/70s rock stars to smashing their guitars. Only blokes may note and wryly comment on this cultural artefact! Um, OK, whatevs.

"No coincidence the band configuration was guitars, bass and drums." Indeed it's not a coincidence since he was playing rootsy rock music and this is a common, indeed ubiquitous, rock configuration. Here's the most recent live stuff of Lucinda Williams' I can find from SXSW this year AND OH MY GOD ITS NO COINCIDENCE SHE HAS GUITARS AND DRUMS IN HER BAND. That's what rock musicians (and blues and country) do, why do I even need to say this?

"Damn This Town" is, like, not at all what he describes except in the most superficial way. Indeed the "damn this town" refrain refers to wanting to you leave your town (a peculiarly male life experience? SIGH.) but there's a line at the end "I'm 58 years old, still live at home like a kid/Damn this town/Damn this town" tips some of us off to a bit of irony happening. Maybe only "literate chicks" listen to the last verse of a song.

OK, "Detroit Made" is basically just about cars, I'll give him that one.

But "Drive South"? "Drive South"?????????

"Drive South" is a song about automobiles in the same way "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song about aeronautics.

And then there's "Crossing Muddy Water." It's not expected or compulsory to know the background but this song is actually about the mid-80s suicide of his first wife. So, yeah. Now you don't need to know that but even coming to the song as a blank slate I cannot fathom a moral adult listening to it and coming away with the idea it was some kind of masculine posturing or jesus I don't even know what he's talking about. The sensibilities of a person who DOESN'T think this is a (bitter)sweet lament for lost love is to be forever questioned. I mean, LISTEN TO IT. (written lyrics)

"When he occasionally gets around to love" OHHAhahahhahahahahHAHA. Bruce, all his songs are about love. Here's the setlist cadged from a roadie after the show by my friends Rory and Jane. LET'S TAKE A LOOK!

With YouTubes so you can check my work.

Perfectly Good Guitar -not love
Detroit Made - not love
Crossing Muddy Waters - LOVE
Drive South - love
Cry Love - duh it's right there in the name, LOVE
Paper Thin -- love
Real Fine Love - love
Thing Called Love- love
Feels Like Rain - love
Slow Turning - love
Tennessee Plates - Elvis, bank robberies and grand theft auto ... because of LOVE, well OK maybe more LUST
Memphis in the Meantime - needing to get out of Nashville because everyone knows blokes hate country music
Have a Little Faith In Me- love
Riding with the King - What does this song mean? Well ever since Eric Clapton and BB King covered it it means John Hiatt gets a sweeeeet royalty cheque every year. HA HA.

I trust we don't need to dwell on this further.

Now we move from the stupid and worthless to the offensive and dangerous.

There are women in the audience but most of them are accompanied by their blokes, who sport a beer in one hand, jeans sliding down over a sagging middle-aged spread and hair that is either in short supply or turning grey.

Bruce, the Margaret Mead of Fairfax, has lit on the startling sociological insight that in our society a large percentage, even a majority, of people go to social events with opposite sex partners. (you may speculate on the projection going on in his description of the men, I am above that) I didn't do a head count; I didn't know the data would be required later to prove my existence. It would not surprise me if the demos skewed male, however I did a statistical analysis (oh, yes I did) of the "likes" and comments on the last 5 posts on the official John Hiatt Facebook page and came up with a slight majority 52%-48% of people who appear to present as female.

Perhaps Bruce is basing this extraordinary claim on some personal experience. Perhaps he knows a woman who was there under sufferance with her husband to pay him back for that one time he sat through an episode of Grey's Anatomy with her. But I have anecdotes too. Next to me front row centre were a woman I didn't know who was with her I presume male partner and knew all the words and was right into it. To my left were three women I knew, none of whom were there "with their blokes." Two are long standing Hiatt fanatics and one was not really familiar with him but left a convert. I could also tell you about standing in the long queue for the ladies loo with a bunch of women gushing to each other and counting out decades of their life's milestone by John Hiatt songs.

This is tossed off rubbish too. He's phoning it in, as they say. But as I said above there are serious cultural undercurrents to a man being able to assert so blithely the invisibility of women's experience, and to take for granted they are merely passive supporters to their men's actions. Heaven forbid they could be there as a mutual pleasure.

As above this idea John Hiatt's music is blokey blokeness for blokes is utterly laughable. If you said the same about, say, Bruce Springsteen or Steve Earle or - in particular - Justin Townes Earle I think you would be wrong but you'd have a much more arguable case than John Effing Hiatt whose stock in trade is in fact love songs that border on the soppy but which can just stay the right side of that tightrope which is why he is such a bloody ace songwriter. (I suppose actually if you are one side of a tightrope you fall off, but I can't be bothered to tighten up my similes just for goddamn fracking Bruce Elder.)

It's so WRONG that it is HILARIOUS he quotes "Well I never went to college babe / I did not have the luck / Rolled out of Indiana in the back of a pickup truck" to support his thesis of John Hiatt, Poet Laureate of Dude Nation while ignoring THE WHOLE REST OF THE SONG.

Then out of nowhere
and from nothing
You came into my life
I'd seen an angel or two before
But I'd never asked one to be my wife

Well now the babies are all sleeping
And the twilight's givin' in
She looks like you, he looks like her
And we all look a little like him
Well maybe it's just the little thing
The way I feel tonight
A little joy
A little peace
And a whole lotta light.

Fuck yeah, what a brute! I mean, really.

Returning to "Drive South" here's vid of JH doing it which I choose of the various other versions on YouTube because it has audience shots so you can see the women brazenly existing right there. Although it is at a Borders bookshop so perhaps they just dropped in to pick up The Rules revised edn and their ladybrains were ambushed by the wholly unfamiliar sounds of a form of transport being used as a symbol for freedom and renewal.

And here's noted woman Suzy Bogguss doing a version of the same song, which was so transgressive of societal norms that it got to Number 2 on the US country chart. (Oh early 90s music videos, don't go changing.)

By the way the only vee-hick-al refered to specifically in "Drive South" is "this Chevy van." This is a Chevy van. CHICK MAGNET OR WUT??

Another non-bloke who didn't get the memo is Bonnie Raitt whose biggest career hit was JH's hymn to masculinist posturing ode to romantic love between mature equals "Thing Called Love." Here's Bonnie, with Dennis Quaid a ha ha.

Eh, now I'm tired of dealing with this shit. I rest my case.

At the Factory, Marrickville this Friday.

This is going to be good, Sydneysiders presented by 2MBS radio show Stormy Monday. Starts at 7pm with a film about New Orleans Mardis Gras and then Louisiana Roadshow. $20 in, Marrickville Bowlo February 18th.

A round up of stuff I've seen in the last few months.

Let's start with my friend JD Love's album launch supported by 49 Goodbyes in November at the Rose, Erskineville. JD is a bona fide rock star mix of Mose Allison meets Hank Williams. He has a new record out now called Two Days, the LP version of which was pressed at Abbey Road.

Here is JD with up and comer out of Melbourne Georgia Fields (also happens to be his daughter) in a particularly twang moment:

Opening for JD were 49 Goodbyes, and they are just great. They describe themselves as Gram and Emmylou except with two girls (and a guy on guitar). One of the leads is Emma Swift who has the excellent "In the Pines" Americana show on FBI Radio in Sydney every Tuesday night (you can listen online nationally.)

More of them later.

The next thing I went to see was Joe Pug and the Wagons at the Vanguard. I don't mind the Wagons or anything but I also wouldn't go far out of my way, but for Joe Pug I would ... willingly experience some inconvenience. He was only opening so it was a short set but divine as he always is. He came out in the encore of the Wagons (they have quite a following it was pretty packed for them) to do "Long Black Veil" and "Lawyers, Guns and Money", both of which I got videos of. I also got a photo. ;-)

Then, I went to see the mysterious Frank Fairfield at the Basement. But first, to my surprise 49 Goodbyes was the support act. Win. This is them doing "Wrecking Ball" (Emmylou Harris via Neil Young). 49 Goodbyes has an EP out, all the tracks are listenable to here. (I believe that is Emma's own YouTube page so it's artist-approved streaming.)

I went to Frank Fairfield with a friend who didn't know him (I have his albums -- which are on the great, eclectic Tompkins Square label -- but never seen him live) and we ended up having a deep not really sober conversation about Authenticity. We both basically hate the concept, so that helped. For Frank Fairfield is a creation of another age (turn of century - 20s folk tunes) and for sure "acts" the part, the clothes, the stage manner and such. I have mixed feelings about performers who attempt to "faithfully recreate" another era, the revivalists. There are some well known ones that leave me cold. I admit a lot of that comes down in the grey area of the Very Subjective. I love old time music, as should be obvious if you read this blog, but I also don't listen to music to get a high school play type presentation of The Cartoonish Past. (And I also feel uncomfortable with lifting cultural forms out of their context when that act is a form of white privilege blithely appropriating the culture of black or other colonised people. That's a much bigger issue .... ) I don't know, as I say a lot is very subjective but too much affectation is not conducive to good music, in my experience.

However, I really like Frank Fairfield. I think there is something just so resolutely anti-commercial about every thing he does that it can't be a marketing ploy (not that I object to artists using marketing, but you don't get to have it both ways). It is so studied, intense and internalised it kind of transcends the trend of revivalist retro. I think he's just basically weird, in the good sense, in the old weird America sense. I didn't even bother trying to get a video since he sits so far back from the microphone even to sing, there would be no point. I like that he makes the audience WORK to get their quota of hipster approved depression-era jollies, dammit.

Here is a short (1:22) video about him

He did consent to allowing the new fangled iPhoto-O-Matic 2000 to imprint his and his Civil War Moustache's visage on its devilishy digital mercury.

Then I guess the next thing was Hanggai, who are a Mongolian/Chinese band who play traditional Mongolian music with a distinct punk edge. They were also at the Basement and they were super amazing. The Basement was rocking and sweaty that night (and, vastly less Anglo than usual). I can't find anything on YouTube to really recreate that, most of the videos are from polite world music festivals. This one from Woodford last month is OK. Woodford has always had good music but the overall vibe of it always made me fear I'd have to smother a hippy within 20 minutes of being there and inviting the really quite evil anti-vaccination loon Meryl Dorey to speak this year really just turned me off it forever.

Anyway, Hanggai:

Hanggai get two videos because they are awesome. This is "Xiger, Xiger" (pronounced "Shigga Shigga") which is more traditional that the above but it gets stuck in my brain for days. I dare you not to get enthralled. I mean, check out Batubagen who is throat singing and playing the morin-khuur (Mongolian horse-headed "cello" type instrument). He'd sing, then another person would sing and I'd look around the band to see who the new singer was but ... it was Batubagen and that whole throat singing thing. And of course Ilchi , the bare-chested front man who IMHO joins a very select group of genuine, charismatic top tier front men. Amazing and ROCKING.

Then I went and saw Cambodian Space Project at the Vanguard. They are a Cambodian/"Western" fusion in the manner of the much better known Dengue Fever ie dudes with guitars backing a Khmer female singer. CSP are based in Phonm Pehn, though. I enjoyed it although I thought that the guitars were mixed up WAY too high, drowning out the singer Srey Thy who is quite great. (I also thought some of the between song banter was a bit condescending towards her.) Her voice is more than worthy of singing those classic Ros Sereysothea songs.

I mean, what's the point? If this band was just the indie rock dudes, no one (no offence) would care, it is the Cambodian aspect that is the reason they have the gig. I can listen to dude guitars anywhere. Still, they had cute t-shirts for sale. Here is how they are meant to sound:

And that is that!

December 2011! Time for some favourites from the year, I guess.
Starting with these ....

The Singing Mailman Delivers - John Prine Double CD of demos and live from 1970, a year before his first studio release. If you know Prine you'll find it worthwhile and if you don't it's actually a great place to start.

Late Late Party 1965-67 - Charles "Packy" Axton Anthology of cuts from the various bands of this Memphis sax player. Largely instrumental, just super funky in a smooth sort of way.

Beautiful Rivers and Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974 - Shin Joong Hyun The "Godfather of Korean Rock", absorbing the music of the US troops, and adding elements of Korean music, jazz and soul until being "unpatriotic" got him banned from music.

Joe Pug and Randy Newman both put out live albums (and accompanying DVD in Randy's case) in the last few weeks, I hardly think I need to spruik them given how much of that I've done in this forum. I will however say, once again, Joe Pug's Live at Lincoln Hall is only $5 to download and is sensational.

Tickets for Byron players' side shows have started going on sale, and so the Easter bottleneck shuffle has begun.

I haven't experienced any great angst with my schedule the last couple of years but in 2012 Lucinda Williams and John Hiatt are playing Sydney the same night, Tuesday 3rd April. What to Do!!!???

Actually the dilemma was not a big one in the end. My devotion to both is equal, really I can't split them. I've seen both live in the last couple of years and neither seem likely to give up touring or recording in the foreseeable future. So it comes then down to the venue, and that is, as the young folk say, "a no brainer." John is playing the Metro and Lucinda the State. The Metro: smallish, general admission where you can get up the front with a bit of rock and roll in the air versus the State where your only option is to sit and clap politely. Lucinda's ads say "One Show Only" so that is sad but man I am looking forward to "Walk On", "Slow Turning", "Tennessee Plates" etc etc in that venue.

Speaking of no-brainers Justin Townes Earle is at the Factory the night after. Never miss him live.

Steve Earle is going solo at the Factory the following week, through an early offer I got some front row seats and Steve solo is still a worthwhile proposition despite my mostly indifference to his last decade of output.

Also at the Factory in March is Charles Bradley, the latest retro soul revelation from Daptone.

I gather Trombone Shorty is also playing at the Metro but tickets aren't on sale yet. I'll also check out Bettye Lavette and Nick Lowe sideshows to see if I can fit them in.

Before all that in January I'll be seeing the Cambodian Space Project at the Vanguard and Hanggai at the Basement. Cambodian Space Project traverse the same general territory combining Khmer pop and western rock as the better known Dengue Fever. although CSP are actually based in Phnom Penh.

Hanggai play Mongolian folk music with electric guitars and a punk attitude. I find them quite enthralling.

Phew.

Go download.

I went to see Joe Pug at the Vanguard the other night. Technically it was a Wagons show with Joe Pug opening but ... I went to see Joe Pug. He was only out here to do this opening gig so it was a bit disappointing to only get a short set but a short set is better than no set I guess. Below are videos of the encores. Opening for the opener was Faith Lee who I thought was very promising.

Long Black Veil

Lawyers, Guns & Money

It's a month since this event, my blogging mojo is gone but it was still constantly on my mind to get this out. The lag should absolutely not be put down to indifference. Indeed, one can check my twitter feed or last.fm record to see the intensity of my excitement re: Randy.

My anxious desire to see Randy live has evident since the early days of the Flop Eared Mule blog, for instance where I proclaimed he would be one of my "musical Mount Rushmores." (some other blasts from the past here and here and here)

And so here we are.

Randy was with the excellent Sydney Symphony (and equivalent state symphonies in Brissie and Melbourne) which was a suitably grand accompaniment for the occasion of his first visit here in almost 25 years. The Opera House venue showed us off to our best, too. On a further Sydney-chauvinist note I was pleased after several weeks of torrential rain and freezing (for us) Winter temps that his week in Sydney was sunshiny and winter-warm.

The setlist was as above (from the programme) both nights with the exception that "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear" replaced "Kingfish."

No diss to "Simon Smith etc" (which actually was the almost certainly the first Randy Newman song I ever-though unknowingly-heard on a random vinyl 60s compilation when I was ~14) but I must say "Kingfish" is one of my top 10 Randy songs and I woulda loved to hear it. SO HERE IT IS ANYWAY:

I watched a Ken Burns doco on Huey Long - the subject of Kingfish - recently and it/he is truly fascinating. Oh, don't get me started on the issue of the limits of the state in a capitalist economy! In addition, I really like Levon Helm's cover of it, and I say that about very few covers of Randy. Very few would I listened to voluntarily at home, for pleasure. I like this one.

(Further segue: This reminds me that Randy Newman needs to be on Treme. As a devoted fan of the first two seasons I keep waiting but the closest they've got is a quote from "Rednecks" in second season about "LSU, go in dumb, come out dumb too." Since every other muso who even vaguely thought about ever using a rolling left hand piano line has got a gig it seems natural. As for what he would perform. The NOLA songs are obvious. "Louisiana 1927" is perhaps/hopefully TOO obvious. I'm thinking more "Dixie Flyer", "New Orleans Wins The War" or the above mentioned "Kingfish" which might lead the race as the "Standard Oil" business plays unironically into David Simon's politics and the end of the last season (spoiler) seemed to foreshadow the Deepwater spill. Or something, anything unrelated to New Orleans. I digress. But make it happen, someone!)

But still: Dixie Flyer makes it all OK.

And "Real Emotional Girl" !!

SO ANYWAY. Randy played some songs on piano with the SSO, played some songs on piano solo and conducted a couple of film scores. He joked, everyone laughed (including the orchestra), he got standing ovations. It was a lot of fun. He was very generous about the SSO and encouraged everyone to go see them. I would, probably, if you didn't have to flog off your kidney to afford it. Classical music is one of those things I vastly prefer live than on record; I like the visual quality of watching the orchestra, all the bows zipping up and back together or some beats apart, hearing a something and looking to see where it has come from. On the first night at interval I snuck up from way at the back to one of the boxes over the stage (after a decade or so of getting the rail at Dylan gigs, no Opera House usher is going to out seat-sneak me) - and this was a an excellent spot to get a panopticon view of the orchestra. (On the second night I was in the second row and got a tremendous view of the side of a Steinway & Sons. Learning the lesson when I see Allen Toussiant and the "Legends of New Orleans" show in the same room later this month I got one a bit further back and to the side on the floor.) I enjoyed the orchestral score part, even though my devotion rests on the singer-songwriter work - you can't not be moved by a full orchestra belting out The Natural theme in person, can you?

As you can see from above, I was able to meet Randy after the show (actually, after both nights.) This was arranged through the official fan discussion list, they take names from there to go backstage after every show. Thanks to Susan from the list and Cathy, his manager for arranging it for me! The first night there were a Swedish couple he had met at a restaurant, the second night a couple who had flown up from Melbourne for the show but happened to run into Randy and his wife on Manly ferry that day. So not only does he generously let folks from the "fan club" come backstage via official channels but he also picks up strays for the door list as he goes about his day.

The first night it was me, the Swedes, Glenn A. Baker and some bloke Glenn A Baker brought with him. So it was a small group. G.A.B naturally started in with some anecdote involving his BFF Ray Charles and what Ray told him was the definition of soul. This went on for a while. I was just sort of standing there being a bit pathetic and staring. Randy on several occasions made a point of including me in the "conversation", asking me about what I thought. What a mensch. We had a brief chat, and of course the photo. Our chat was mainly about Faust - Glenn A. had brought it up first, natch -- and he asked me if there were any songs I wanted him to do that he didn't. I think I blurted out "Guilty" and "My Country." He said he would try. Of course he did neither but that is OK! The second night there were a bunch more people - I don't know where most of them came from - and I had already had my chance so I just lurked awkwardly in that special way I have and chatted a bit to manager Cathy and his helpmeet (he probably has a more official title) Beau, who were both super super lovely. So Randy was lovely, a very warm manner and super nice all round.

On the way home I thought I should have requested "I Want You To Hurt Like I Do" or "New Orleans Wins the War" (shockingly, not on YouTube.)

On the second night backstage some guy was pestering him about doing "Rednecks" (I gather he had yelled it out as a request at the Melbourne show) and Randy's like "yeah, no." Which is completely understandable but having seen the orchestra show I'd love to see a solo show, in a more intimate venue where he could stretch out a bit on the song list without necessarily having to satisfy the SSO crowd. He did end the second show saying he would be back, and it wouldn't take another 23 years -"I can't do anything that takes 23 years!" So I hope I might yet get to see that kind of gig, but even if not I am exceptionally grateful for these ones.

Coda: Earlier the week before Randy was on The Circle on Channel Ten. If you have ever wanted to see Ding Dong Drysdale hit on Randy Newman, all your Christmases have come at once.

Randy gigs (if one can call symphony orchestra accompanied appearances at the Opera House gigs) next Friday and Saturday and I am much excited. I have a good (=expensive) ticket for one of the nights and a total cheapie up the back for the second. Here's Mr Newtownoer-Than-Thou Tim Freedman bagging Sydney in a Randy article for the Herald Sun. I hope he realises in the "Sydney-Melbourne is like LA-NYC" thing, Sydney is Los Angeles in that formula and, like that's where Randy is from? So like, we win. Shut up, Melbourne.

It will be interesting to gauge the vibe of the place, are they really ready for Randy or are they Sydney Symphony season ticket holders or Toy Story fans?

Also, if you ever wanted to see Denise Drysdale hit on Randy Newman, here is your chance:

OK so don't miss this one. Not only perennial FEM hearththrob Andy Baylor but a bunch of other great acts covering yer roots spectrum. Blues with Continental Robert (of Dynamic Heptonics fame), singer-singwriter soul with Tracey Miller and Pia Andersen bringing the vintage heat. So, hello? See you there.

PS get the new Baylor Brothers disc here.

I forgot to mention... the opening act for Justin was Lanie Lane who was really very good. She didn't have anything for sale though which I thought odd. Far be it from me to tell independent musos how to do their jobs but if you have an opening slot like that burn a few EPs at home and at least get email addresses, mmkay? Anyway I bought her single (below, the "b side" is a doof doof remix I don't really dig) off iTunes and apparently she has an album coming.

She played solo acoustic which gave an interesting lofi twist to songs I assume are otherwise probably going to have a rockabilly backing. She's certainly got that rockabilly chick look going for her but writes catchy originals and can pull off a show so its not just all image.

What Do I Do from Leslie Marsh on Vimeo.

No, not together - although lucky folk in Freo and Melbourne will get some joint shows next week. A week apart, at the Annandale and Notes Newtown for my fourth and second times respectively.

JTE continues to deliver each gig, this time he was accompanied by on fiddle by Josh Hedley; seems like JTE has a new sideman every tour here adding something different each time. Josh added sensitive harmonies and judging by these videos can put on a damn fine show, solo. Oh and they did a great "Racing in The Street." Somehow I was way right at the back on the Annandale which was a terrible place to be though. Someone smart enough to get up the front got this heartfelt "Christchurch Woman"

Joe Pug : much better turnout at Notes than his first visit here last November and I know of at least half a dozen people who've been converted to him during this tour. So, yay.

Here's "Nation of Heat" from that gig from Deadflower67 on Youtube:

Went off. Would've liked to see some horns next time to fill out the soul but the guitar, bass drums combo did pretty good.

Brief vid of some of the encore, the sound is fuzzy because I was right next to the amps on front of stage.

FINALLY updated the Sydney Dylan Society page with 2011 dates. As there is a tour shortly I'll update later on where we will be meeting before the show. It's usually the Crystal Palace but as we now meet at the Market Tavern maybe it will be there. Will consult and get back to you.

Australia!* You may have all missed his previous tour, just this past November, but the opportunity arises to spare you the #FAIL of missing out twice as Joe Pug is coming back.

Namely:

March 11 Sydney--Notes Newtown
March 12 Port Fairy--Port Fairy Folk Festival
March 13 Port Fairy--Port Fairy Folk Festival
March 17 Adelaide--Grace Emily
March 18 Fremantle--Norfolk Basement
March 19 Victoria--Mossvale Music Festival
March 20 Melbourne--The Toff in Town

Messenger from last year is a stunner and I can attest to the excellence of his live performance. So go, OK?

*Offer applies only to selected states.

So I went and saw Emmylou the other week. I didn't immediately rush to blog with it because of the redundancy of anything I could say. If she hadn't been sublime, that would be news. I'll play fearless citizen journalist a bit and say there was something a bit off about the sound. As we know, I am a dullard at musical perception but my old cloth ears picked up an imbalance to the band, a clattering loudness to the drums at time and a sharpness at times to the mando and an indistinctness at others. Due once again to the herculean incompetence of my nemesis, Ticketmaster, I wasn't in the front row where you expect a certain muddiness, but half way back in the prime position for the mixers.

In any event I shouldn't complain, she did "Goodbye" and "Pancho and Lefty" plus a whole bunch from Wrecking Ball including "Every Grain of Sand." And a new song dedicated to Kate McGarrigle.

It's almost January which means minds are turning north, to Tamworth. In an enduring personal failure, I won't be there again this year but, there's always next year, is what I keep telling myself. Because really what could be better than getting to see Andy Baylor every day for a freakin' week?

And when you see him, request "Who Were You Thinkin' Of" for me, which I love but there's no Andy doing it on YouTube so we'll have to slum it with Sir Doug and the boys:

Tremendous night, that was. The Red Rattler which in addition to having admirable social and artistic aims is a cute little space in the inner west rust belt. The bar service was super friendly and the drinks reasonably priced (one schooner and two reds for $12.50). I had something from the tap they were calling Rat's Piss and it was tasty. The attendance only numbered about 30 which is a disgrace Sydney although there was a show at the Raval the night before which might have split the ticket. But still. Those that were there were into it though and the performers were gracious and didn't pull back.

Chris's album Que Paso (also the name of his band) has got a lot of play round my place since I checked it out a month or so ago when I saw he was opening for Joe Pug. The name in Spanish means "what happened" which is a reference to (I gather) this country rekkid being a departure from his usual rock sound so it may be a oncer but I really hope not, he has the voice and lyrics to really do a lot of interesting things in the genre. The band on Que Paso provides a very full sounds including banjos, fiddlers steel guitar etc so I wasn't sure how it would translate to solo acoustic but it did, excellently. Apart from the lyrics, the songs have such strong melodies inside them you can strip out all the instruments and still have a cohesive thing. So, that was great.

Here's Hume Highway Blues, and I've also got a vid of Love Like This.

Joe Pug apart from being one of the best songwriters going around has done some innovative and cool things to engage with fans and not-yet-fans in the modern era, from giving away as many sampler CDs as you ask for to give to your friends and doing a tour of North America this year where tickets were $10 with no extra fees, of the handling kind you usually get slugged, Joe seems like a exceptional stand up guy and while that's not necessary to want to back his music, it doesn't hurt.

Here's a performance/interview he did with ABC Dig the other day.

So at the gig he ran through a lot of the songs from his LP Messenger, including lots of my faves. Here's "I Do My Father's Drugs". I requested and got my favourite song of his "Bury Me Far (From My Uniform)" in the encore- thanks Joe!

In addition to this, Chris Altmann also came back out and they did three country classics : "Hickory Wind", "Close Up the Honky Tonks" and "Lost Highway" The first and the third are below. How excitement! Burgo who reviewed Brisbane didn't mention this collaboration so I assume it's a new addition, on a back stage discovery they both grew up listening to the same old country stuff.

So that's that - great night! I'm sure he'll come back so then, Australia, you will have no excuse not to get out in droves. I also hope Chris Altmann comes back to Sydney soon with the full band and I'll definitely be harrassing y'all to get along to both when it happens.