In a week that’s seemed far too short, it’s nice to take a breath and look back on a moment I got to slow down. There really is no better place to do that than Lizotte’s, especially when the wonderful Jake Shimabukuro is playing for you.
I ordinarily frequent the Kincumber Lizotte’s, but Easter festivities lured me to the Newcastle venue with my parents. There’s a different vibe to the Newcastle venue. It’s still warm, but there’s a little more space to spread out. That means it loses a little of the lounge room feel, but it’s still much more intimate than most venues around. And just like the Central Coast, the food is to die for. I struggled through my generous serve of herb battered fish and chips after a big Easter lunch, but it was too delicious to leave.
There was no support act tonight, perhaps because following Jake would be a tall order. I’d caught some of his performances online, but I really went into this show knowing very little. He joked that expectations are always low when people see someone playing ukulele. His reputation precedes him though. I was expecting greatness, but I didn’t expect to be quite as engaged as I was.
You see, I’ve always been a lyrics girl. Without lyrics to hang on to I wondered whether parts of the night might drag. No chance. Jake relished sharing the stories of the moments that surrounded his original songs, and they allowed us to understand the instrumental pieces better. He’s also such a compelling, dynamic performer. You can feel him, whether he’s strumming hard or playing so softly that you have to strain your ears.
The sounds he gets from a ukulele are incredible. The instrument has a range of just two octaves, yet he somehow makes it sound like so much more. He played it like a mandolin, like a guitar, like a piece of percussion. I couldn’t believe the tones he created.
While his originals were solid, the covers wowed me. I knew I loved his version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and it was a fitting encore. However I was most impressed by his take on “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It was just so clever, with the ukulele singing all of these incredible parts, from rock to opera.
My expectations weren’t as low as Jake teased that they might be, but they were still exceeded by this incredible musician.
Image source: own photo
Darren had a bit more material to play with this time around thanks to the recent release of A Tribute to Ray Charles. The audience embraced those classics tunes just as they did the covers Darren delivered on The Voice. I was particularly impressed by his takes on The Beatles’ “Blackbird” and Ray’s “Georgia on my Mind.” I’ve heard so many people put their stamp on the latter, but his soulful version stands out as one of the best I’ve heard. In hindsight perhaps encouraging people who’ve enjoyed too many of the house wines to take over the vocals on “Shower the People” wasn’t a good idea, but the singalong was certainly lots of fun. Familiar tunes made up the bulk of Darren’s two-part set, but he treated us to a few choice originals, including the stunning “Damage Down” heard on The Voice.
We were there in the thick of it once Keith took the stage. Our fifth row seats were incredible, but I must admit to feeling a little out of place. Keith fans seem lovely, but boy are they passionate. I bobbed my head in time to songs I was enjoying while they danced and sang with gusto to every tune.
Keith and his stellar band were more than enough to keep us entertained, but the appearance of a few choice special guests took the energy in the room up a few notches. Benji and Joel Madden returned to the stage to join Keith for a cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” Keith’s The Voice charge Darren Percival made a not so unexpected appearance later on. But when Jimmy Barnes joined Keith Urban for “Flame Trees” I lost my mind. What a special concert moment it was.
Keith’s Sydney show was pure entertainment. He gave us the right mix of upbeat numbers and heartfelt ballads. He chatted easily to the crowd and seemed genuinely humbled by their support. And he looked pretty damn good while he was doing it. Who could ask for anything more?
Then it was time for The Trouble with Templeton, an outfit that’s grown from solo act to ensemble in recent years. I became a fan in those early days when Thomas Calder adopted his moniker and released his impressive debut Bleeders. He seems at ease with his band, a bunch of talented performers in their own right, but I’m not sure they really fit a venue like Lizotte’s. And I’m not just referring to The Cubby House’s small stage! The sound was turned way up to eleven, a jarring contrast to The Falls’ more delicate set. There’s nothing wrong with being brash and bold, but sometimes less is more. Something tells me I’d have been better able to appreciate their songs if I could catch all the lyrics. It was also disappointing to see “Bleeders” so poorly represented. The cries for “I Wrote a Novel” fell on deaf ears; it would have made the perfect encore if they’d felt like giving us one. Encores are almost mandatory these days, so I was surprised the band didn’t return to the stage.
There was no support act, no backing band, no intermission: just Ben Harper and an enthralled Sydney crowd coming together for close to four hours. Never before have I witnessed an artist giving an audience so much of themselves and their time. He remarked a few times on the quality of the sound in the Opera House, the best he’d ever experienced he said, and it seemed he wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible.
Image source: Stephen Katulka
INXS are undoubtedly one of Australia’s most enduring rock acts. They have created some of the world’s best pop rock anthems, and they sound just as tight as ever. Yet the parade of lead singers that have fronted the band in recent years has really let them down. Watching newbie Ciaran Gribbin prowl around the stage, I’m still not convinced they’ve got the mix right.
The night predictably took a turn for the better when Matchbox Twenty stepped out on stage. They opened with “Parade,” just as their new album North does, a reminder that they wouldn’t just rest on the hits of the past. However it wasn’t long before those familiar tunes came out to, to rapturous applause.
Matchbox Twenty did a great job of pleasing all their fans, with a set which drew from their entire back catalogue. I was thrilled to see them celebrating not just the singles but other strong album songs like More Than You Think You Are’s hidden track “So Sad So Lonely” and my latest favourite “Our Song.” The delicate “I Will” was gorgeous, and I couldn’t help wiping away tears as they performed “Push,” the first Matchbox song that touched me all those years ago. While I adore Rob Thomas, it was also exciting to see him stepping down from vocal duties for Kyle Cook’s shining moment, “The Way.” INXS returned for the final song, a cover of “Good Times,” an appropriate number considering the smiles on all the musicians’ faces.
This isn’t a night I can write about with any sense of impartiality. Seeing my favourite band is always something so special. I danced until my feet were sore, sang until my voice was hoarse, and marvelled at the magic that always comes when I spend time in the presence of this incredible band. Above all, their set was a set that made me feel. Rob Thomas has a way of making you forget that he’s sung many of these songs for more than a decade. He leaves his heart on the stage. His passion and charisma move you, and he’s only enhanced by his stellar band. And that is why I keep coming back. That is why Matchbox Twenty is my favourite band.
I can’t remember another international act gracing the Jazz in the Vines stage, but this British band fit right in. Despite hailing from the United Kingdom, the Dixie Ticklers had a real New Orleans vibe that took us back to the roots of jazz. With so many artists from this festival pushing the boundaries of exactly what jazz is, it was refreshing to see a band representing the genre so purely.
Grace Knight strayed from her pop roots and celebrated the standards featured on more recent releases. Like the fine wines we were consuming from the good folks at Tamburlaine, her voice only gets better with age. Her version of “I’m a Woman” was killer, and my inner child loving hearing her bust out her Eurogliders’ hit “Heaven (Must Be There).”
Willy Mason was first up with his deep resonate voice, killer guitar skills, and gentlemanly charm. He reminded me a lot of Johnny Cash, and I lapped up his classic brand of countrified folk music. His set was simple, without bells and whistles, but when music’s that good you don’t need a spectacular show to jazz things up.
I enjoyed Willy Mason, but I was wowed by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. What a band. This was really my first introduction to their music; I’d heard “Home” of course but didn’t click that they were “that band” until their set closed. But I was enthralled from the get go. A dozen musicians sharing a stage will always make an impression, but this band has much more than bulk on their side. There’s such a lovely old-fashioned feel to the group, like they’ve just stumbled off some hippie compound with their bare feet and left of centre instrumentation. How exciting to see mandolins and trumpets and piano accordions coming together with the most exquisite harmonies! And then there’s Alex Ebert, aka Edward Sharpe, a compelling messiah-like figure with a captivating voice that dances mad, joyful jigs. I wish one of my photos could accurately convey what an incredible presence he has, but sadly the dim lighting and his rapid movements were against me. Despite my love for Mumford & Sons, I was disappointed when they announced their last song. I was just not ready for the set to end. I can’t recall ever responding so deeply to a support act.
That disappointment was pretty easy to shake off once Mumford & Sons took to the stage. These British lads must be one of the tightest bands around. I marvelled at the way their voices mingled together, with just a gentle acoustic guitar to accompany them, in the opening strains of “Lover’s Eyes.” The show kicked into a higher gear when Mumford & Sons took us back to their debut album with a raucous rendition of “Roll Away Your Stone” and “Winter Winds.” I really appreciated the way Mumford & Sons celebrated both their albums, treating fans to a roughly equal number of tracks. This wasn’t about pushing a new release; instead it was a night just about enjoying great music. As captivated as I was by the band, I loved looking down and taking in the faces of the crowd on the floor, jumping like one pulsing organism in the more frenetic moments, singly loudly and proudly along with their idols. There was an awful lot of love in the room.
Darren could easily fill much larger places. His two shows at the original Lizotte’s sold out months ago. And he will graduate to greater halls when he plays the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne’s Crown Casino in the coming weeks. But clearly there’s a big part of Darren that revels in the intimacy a small venue can provide. He chatted easily to the enthralled crowd between songs, and played a generous two-hour set without the aid of a support act.
After such a lengthy set many artists would have felt they’d given all they could give, but not Darren. He was still happily signing autographs and posing for photographs when fatigue got the best of me. He might be one of the hottest acts in the Australian music industry at the moment, but it’s refreshing to see Darren’s got his feet planted firmly on the ground.