w/Tara Simmons, Steve Grady, This Means That
I learnt two things from this gig last night. First, never underestimate someone you've never heard of, and second, standing near drunk people at gigs does not make for a good experience.
Unfortunately, I missed most of the first act, This Means That, but from what I did hear (only the last song) it would have been pretty darn good. Sitting on the floor at the Troubadour has become an old habit for me. I never get there in time for a couch, and as tonight would later prove, I always choose the wrong place to sit. As Steve Grady was setting up, I was surprised to see Dan Parsons also on stage. For a second I had forgotten that he started off drumming, before making a name for himself as a solo artist. Regardless, I was really, really impressed with Steve Grady. He brought a folk-like atmosphere to his performance, while throwing in a bit of rock and country into the mix as well. He also brought some harmonica skills to the stage, and while the first attempt failed a little (I still don't really know what happened) his second attempt proved much more successful. One of the highlights was his rendition of "Concrete Garden". He brought to the stage a lady-friend, and together produced the beautiful tune. Like I said, i was really impressed by this young up and coming, purchasing a CD later on.
Tara Simmons. Where to begin. I have always loved her music. Having first heard her supporting at a Kate Miller-Heidke gig at The Globe, with her full entourage (including her cellos) almost two years previous, I had not had the chance to hear her since. Having since collected her new discs with anticipation, it was good to finally hear her live once again. Performing with only a three piece on stage this night (w/ double bass, and drums/sampler) it produced a raw sound that I'm guessing is a little unusual from what normally occurs on stage. Regardless, it was a brilliant performance. Her version of "All You Can" was frigginsweet! I love how she utilises the sampler, with her backings on it. Seeing as though she was the only one singing on stage it had all her vocal harmonies on it as well as the missing cellos and beats. I was quite annoyed by some of the crowd. She performed a solo piece called "Rosemary". Just a Tara - a keyboard and a voice, so quite a soft, mellow sound. People would just not shut up! I swear, the noise of the chatter was louder than the sound she was creating! And she was mic-ed up! Regardless, I will conclude that she was awesome.
By this stage of the night, the Troubadour was packed. Heaps of people sitting towards the front, and even more standing behind that. I unfortunately was sitting o the edge of what turned out to be the pathway this night. You can never tell with the Troub! *sigh* Fun times... As Matt Croby came to the stage, everyone rose to their feet in anticipation. I'll admit right now, that I had never heard of Matt Corby. From the conversation I overheard from the drunk guy standing next to me, he was on Australian Idol. I cringed. That's why it was so packed... Stupid Australian Idol. As he started though, I was blown away. He was amazing. He first 'song' immediately captivated and silenced the audience, merging from one theme to the next. During this artistic process, he used a loop creator, which in my books raises anyone to another level (but then again I love it when people create there own backing live on stage from scratch). Starting with just guitar, adding different riffs he moved on to add four, maybe five vocal parts over the top, before standing in front of the mics on stage, singing the melody line. It really was a sight to behold. My judgmental views of this man were completely shattered. I also marveled at the quality of this tone of voice. His use of vibrato was exquisite. After this first 'song' he introduced himself and such, and the drunk guy beside me shouted praises and such. (He continued this at every chance he was given, including during songs... *sigh* drunk people...)
Overall, an incredible night that i almost didn't experience, due to indecisiveness. I'm so happy though that my side of me that says "screw being tired and go!" won out in the end. But, what did i learn from this night? Don't judge what you don't know about, and avoid standing near drunk people.
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