Montpelier, Blame Ringo and Claire Whiting
What a miracle! I was actually on time for the gig last night! Hurrah! And what a night. Night one of the Broken Compass Tour, a nine day tour of regional and rural areas in Queensland and New South Wales, featuring three very talented acts, Claire Whiting, Blame Ringo, and Montpelier. I would say they gave their tour a pretty decent kick start.
Greeting me as a walked into the Troubadour this night, was the vocal talent that is Claire Whiting. She brought a calming, pensive atmosphere to the venue with her carefully interwoven melodies. She is the kind of performer that I can see sitting on a bar stool, on a small stage with just her guitar and a small room full of people. The ultimate personal gig. Tonight however she performed with her entourage, including an electric double bass, and keys. The keys added such a beautiful touch to her songs, with almost improv like flourishes enhancing Claire's already full sound. I have to mention the double bass. It was electric! How awesome is that! Sorry... But really, it was pretty cool to see on stage.
A while ago I had the pleasure of hearing Blame Ringo play, and I have to admit, the gig did nothing for me. But this time around it completely upturned my opinions. On reflection, I believe that the venue was not right, and the band before Tin Can Radio created too different a vibe to what there were going for. Maybe, that's just my thoughts. But, like I said, this time around, it was a completely different story. I found myself going with the boys as they moved from ballad-esk pieces to more upbeat ones, and loving every second. What I found fascinating is that all the three out the front shared the lead vocal job. Which made for an even more diverse program. Having now, today, also hear their album they are growing on me more and more. This is a good thing. Sometimes you just don't get something the first time you experience it, but the more you are exposed to it, the more it grows on you. For me, that's the case with Blame Ringo.
Montpelier... I'd heard of them, never experienced them, but I had been told though that there were dreamy. And that is by far the most accurate term for them. One, they are all just really, really good looking, especially the bass player. But more so, two, their music takes you on a journey, whether you want to go or not. One of their song especially hit a note with me. It was a strange, and sort of an unnerving feeling. But musicians have that power, whether they choose to use it of not it up to them. Like Blame Ringo the band also shared the vocal work around, although the bass player did seem to be the one most likely to be singing lead. He had a incredible range. The first song they played showed just this, his vocal line soaring well about the rest. It was a sight and sound to behold.
With such an amazing line up, The Broken Compass, are going to light up stages in such places that often get forgotten by many bands. I do believe that audiences are going to be in for a treat.
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