Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Welsh Dragon - 26 Feb 2010


Trouble
Portait of the young man as an artist
How do I live (without you)?
Chains to you
I told you brother
I'll wait for you
Old man & the sea

This was a really enjoyable gig & a much needed shot of confidence after my last solo show at San Fran. The venue is a lot smaller & intimate, the people there are quiet & respectful of the performer therefore I was able to sit comfortably & allow the songs to beathe and linger. So much more enjoyable than trying to battle against people that just want to drink & chat. From a performers point of view it's an ideal situation.
I started with a new track called 'Trouble' which is acapella with handclaps. Quite a daunting way to start a show but I really like it & was itching to try it out. There's five verses to get through so I wrote it out beforehand but didn't need it in the end, once it started I flew through it. I think the majority of people didn't really know what was going on but Ange, who had been listening to me write it all week, thought it was cool, so that's good enough for me. The rest of the show went well, I thought I played & sung well because I didn't need to fight against the audience. What a relief! Had one small glich when I had retuned to an open tuning for the slide on "I told you brother". Afterwards when I tried to retune I couldn't find the low E & the more I tried the worse it got.. slightly uncomfortable moment as I flailed about trying to retune.. luckily people amused themselves for the couple of minutes until I got things right & we were away again. Overall it was one of my favourite shows for the intimacy and the allowance to sing & play gently. I'll be happy to play this type of show again if Niels will have me back.
On another note I didn't realise what a cool pub the dragon actually is, it's small & cosy with a really nice atmosphere. Definately recommended to people that haven't checked it out before.
Cheers!








Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Late Greats - Mojo Acoustic 12 Feb 2010

Played a cool set with Caleb on Friday night. We play under the name 'The late greats' which is taken from the Wilco track of the same name. It's about the coolest band that no-ones ever heard of, they've never even played a show. It's a take on the whole 'my musical taste is better than yours cause you've never heard of any of the bands I listen too...' attitude.

We played:
If I am a stranger - Ryan Adams
Goin to acapulco - Bob Dylan
Out on the weekend - Neil Young
To be young is to be free is to be high - Ryan Adams (Caleb solo)
Trouble - Ray Montague
Vampire blues - Neil Young
Come take me home - Ryan adams

It was fun being the support guy, I just played rhythm guitar & a few licks, a little backing vocal here & there. Funnily enough I was still a bit nervous beforhand due to Caleb's family all coming along due to he & his g/f Chloe heading to Melbourne. I wanted to support him well so he could show off a little in front of his crew. I think it went well, we got some good feedback & I certainly felt good up there playing. It made me realise how what a dissapointment it is that we're not going to play again. Nevermind, it was good while it lasted!

R.I.P The Late Greats
2009 - 12/02/2010


Sunday, February 7, 2010

Busking

So a few months back we played the Acoustic lounge Christmas showcase with about 5 other acts.
One of the more memorable was a solo accordian player by the name of Vorn. He played his own material except for an ironic version of Led Zep's 'Black dog' which he introduced by saying, "the only time I can get anyone to listen to me is when I play cheesy covers" (or something to that effect). The song got the biggest applause of his set, which was kinda funny as it proved his point. I thought he was a pretty cool cat & we had a post gig cigarette outside. He was complimentary about our set which meant alot coming from an obviously talented musician.
Anyway, Friday night I was out with Ange & who should be busking on Cuba st but Vorn. I happened to have my guitar on me (practicing with Caleb for next Friday's Late greats show) so between songs I dropped some cash in his case & asked if he wanted to jam. The above photo show us mid 'hard to handle'. Awesome. : )