The Commitments Australian Tour. The Governor Hindmarsh. 3 Oct 2014
I can’t say I’ve ever really been a follower of cover bands, and can probably count the number of times I’ve seen one on one hand. I can appreciate what it is that they do, and admit that it is nice to sometimes hear a cover version of a loved track, but on the whole, cover bands are not my thing.
Unless, that is, the cover band does something special with the music they’re playing, breathing new life into it and putting their own spin on proceedings. And that, I am pleased to note, is where Andrew Strong and his band of Commitments fits into the musical sphere.
Irish film ‘The Commitments’ is definitely one of my all-time favourite movies, and like so many others who were enchanted by the film about a bunch of Irish misfits who get together to play black soul music, I was quickly charmed by the sensational vocal abilities of Andrew Strong, if not by his boisterous character Deco. In the film, Deco was a bit of a tool, but thankfully that’s not a trait that Andrew Strong shares in real life, and his stage prowess outshines anything his character could have done! So needless to say, I was pretty happy when I heard that Andrew had put together a band and a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Commitments, and am even happier that ‘Andrew Strong: The Commitments Tour’ paid a visit to our fair city!
As you may expect, the packed crowd at the Gov were of the slightly more seasoned variety, likely a mix of those old enough to remember the film and lovers of the original soul music of the ’60s and ’70s (or both!), but despite the average age, there was plenty of energy in the room! And things reached fever pitch as Andrew came out on stage, joined by a couple of horns, a guy on keys, bass, drums and guitar, and his sister Niamh on backing vocals. All suited in slick threads, they kicked things off with the classic ‘In The Midnight Hour’.
From there, it was a virtual battle between Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding tunes, playing off numbers like ‘Hard To Handle’ and ‘Land Of 1000 Dances’, mixed in with plenty of other soul standards like Joe Tex’s ‘Show Me’, vocal acrobatics on James Carr’s ‘Dark End Of The Street’, and Roy Head’s ‘Treat Her Right’, complete with a mix of change-ups to keep the crowd guessing with their participation and singing, while also showing just how tight the band can be! Andrew’s sister Niamh took centre stage for tunes like the Aretha Franklin pair ‘Chain Of Fools’ and ‘Never Loved A Man’, demonstrating that vocal talent runs in the family! The band was pretty impressive too, with some great Hammond sounds coming from the keys, super soulful sax playing and fat bass, topped off with Andrew’s guitar soloing prowess showing his multitude of musical talents.
Late in the set, Andrew introduced a new song, which ended up being the infamous ‘Mustang Sally’, much to the crowd’s delight, before proceedings closed with a killer cover of Spencer Davis Group’s ‘Gimme Some Lovin’’, with a finish that never seemed to end and bringing things to an almighty climax!
The first set may have been over, but that wasn’t it for the night, with the band returning for some great versions of James Brown’s ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’, a sensational metal romp with Hendrix’s ‘Fire’, and finally ending on a high with Otis Redding’s ‘Try A Little Tenderness’.
Without a doubt, Andrew Strong still has that voice, and the music has remained ever as enjoyable all these years later. What a fantastic show, even if it was full of covers!
Luke Balzan
When: Closed
Where: The Gov
Bookings: Closed
The Governor Hindmarsh. 27 Sep 2014
It was a perfect end to a perfect day. The temperature tipped the high end of the 20s, I’d spent most of the day outside, chilled out with friends and a few bevies, and to cap it all off, a brilliant show put on by the incredible Ash Grunwald at The Gov. Life is sweet!
The evening got off to a good start with Ian Collard, who’s building quite a name for himself in blues circles. Performing solo and playing guitar, stomp box and a mean blues harp, Ian certainly set the right mood for Ash to follow. Ian’s style sits well within the deep-south, old school blues spectrum, with a meaty sound along similar lines to the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and John Lee Hooker, and he was certainly a very worthy opener!
As The Gov continued to fill (with a healthy proportion of people enjoying the balmy evening breezes outside), it was soon time for the main man to take the stage, and immediately he proceeded to show just how relevant old school blues can be to a modern world! One thing I love about seeing Ash Grunwald (and I’ve seen him many a time over the years), is that you never know what kind of show he’ll put on, be it with a band, with perhaps a guest or two, or completely solo. The latter was to be order of the day for this gig, with Ash joined only by his Gibson Les Paul, a bass drum, and a Marshall (plus a couple more amps!), and of course an incredible dose of warm guitar tone, literally filling the room with sound.
Pulling a rich bass end from his guitar, Ash demonstrated his mastery over his instrument, with plenty of ballsy raucousness adding to the fat tone. He played a bunch of different tunes from across his catalogue, including some newies too, and as always took plenty of ad hoc requests from the crowd. He brought out a resonator guitar, which had an even more depthy tone for a number of tunes, and really showed the crowd how raw and gutsy blues music can be. An earth-shattering bass groove underlined a version of ‘Crossroads’ played on lap steel, and favourites like ‘Raw’ (which Ash was initially apprehensive to play without a drummer, but pulled it off like a pro), ‘Skywriter’, and ‘Walking’ had the crowd going mad! Ash was joined by Ian Collard on his harp for a few numbers, including a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ (even a crappy pop song can be made cool by blues-ifying it!), and he even invited half the audience on stage (including a dude evoking the spirit of Axl Rose) to dance. To end proceedings on the main set, Ash gave in to the crowd and played ‘Dolphin Song’, much to the delight of everyone in the room. After a short break, Ash returned to the stage for an encore that continued the blues high, bringing the evening to a riotous end. Definitely a sensational gig! Ash is currently working on a new album too, so hopefully it won’t be too long between drinks, and we’ll be treated to another journey into the blues real soon.
Luke Balzan
When: Closed
Where: The Gov
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 19 Sep 2014
Wow! Double wow! What a concert! It demonstrated the depth of the orchestra’s ensemble, the programming was immensely enjoyable and included a surprise or two (see below!), and the conductor and soloist were spectacular.
Immediately prior to the performance pianist, Robert Levin addressed the audience from the stage and reminded us that improvisation was the norm in Beethoven’s day and that often only the first and last notes of cadenzas were notated by the composer with the expectation that the soloist would improvise the intervening bars. Levin asked members of the audience to write down some snippets of Beethoven’s music during the interval and he would select some of them and improvise a fantasy in the style of Beethoven.
American pianist Robert Levin performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.1 with great passion and bravura. Maestro Nicholas McGegan whipped the ASO into action and Levin asserted his authority almost immediately. The cadenza in the first movement was an object lesson in improvisation, although its energy, complexity and zeal was almost at odds with the rest of the movement. The second movement largo was particular beautiful and the dialogue with the clarinet was as tender as two young lovers in the first flush of romance. Levin set a cracking pace in the final rondo movement and McGegan clearly enjoyed the challenge as he patiently waited for the final note in the final cadenza to sound so that he could bring the orchestra back in to finish the concerto with a flourish. The audience loved it.
After the interval Levin selected at random some of the snippets of Beethoven’s music that members of the audience had written down. Predictably ‘Fur Elise’, the opening bars to Beethoven’s fifth symphony and ‘Ode to Joy’ featured, which Levin graciously didn’t reject, and he also selected the opening bars to the first Piano Sonata. He then sat at the keyboard and proceeded to improvise for ten full minutes and the result was impressive, very impressive indeed. Each theme was clearly evident and Levin wove them together with apparent ease. The audience greatly appreciate Levin’s pianistic skills, and the ASO is to be congratulated for scheduling this rather special part of the program.
McGegan then led the ASO in the runaway that is Symphony No.8. It exploded out of the blocks, and with the exception of the second movement, which is still marked allegretto scherzando, the pace and sheer volatility of the piece are relentless. In the wrong hands it can easily turn to musical mush and it takes discipline from the conductor to ensure that the texture remains clear. McGegan passed the test with flying colours, and he was particularly well served by the horns in the third movement.
At the start of the evening we were treated to a rousing performance of the Leonore Overture No.2. Like Leonore No.1, which was performed last week in Beethoven Fest 1, it has an episodic structure but we can hear how it is clearly approaching Leonore No.3, which will be played next year in a Master’s Series concert. The off-stage trumpet work of Matt Dempsey was particularly fine.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
Recitals Australia. Elder Hall. 15 Sep 2014
Recital Australia's latest concert in its "two pianists" series was a feast of French composition and exquisite pianism. To have one world class pianist perform on an Elder Hall Steinway is pure joy, but to have two is like having all your birthdays at once!
Roy Howat and Emily Kilpatrick, who happen to be husband and wife as well as musical collaborators of considerable note, performed a carefully chosen selection of duos and solos by Ravel, Chopin, Debussy, Chabrier and Poulenc. The narrative of the program was about interconnected French invention and exploration of dance. French piano music has an immediately recognisable and distinct style of its own. Absent is the gravitas and obvious on-your-sleeve emotion of the German and Russian traditions. It is also more delicate and, arguably, more finely structured rendering it less forgiving of a heavy or racing hand. The situation is compounded for two pianos and four hands!
In the austere but acoustically pleasing surrounds of the Elder Hall, Howat and Kilpatrick sat comfortably at the two adjacent Steinways, which, incidentally, Howart helped choose for the Elder Conservatorium. Their performance style is not characterised by flamboyance. Rather it is contained and the focus is squarely on the music and their musicianship, which they both have in abundance. Kilpatrick would occasionally look at Howat's hands as if to strengthen the already strong interconnection with her own. Their timing, synchronicity, and finely balanced dynamics was a hallmark of the entire concert.
The highlight of the program was their inspired interpretation of Chabrier's exciting 'Trois valse romantiques'. Howat and Kilpatrick's imaginative dynamic shading, tightly-controlled unrushed tempi and attention to well-researched expression made for an on-the-edge-of-your-seat listening experience as the focus of attention alternated backwards and forwards from one performer to the other. Howat's ability to produce the most perfect bell-like sounds with his right hand in the uppermost register of the piano was a sheer delight.
Howat handled the requisite accuracy and fast tempo of Chopin's ‘Waltz in A-flat, op. 2’ with apparent ease. They unleashed the inherent fun and humour of Poulenc's duo ‘L'Embarquement pour Cythere’, and the achingly beautiful hurt in Debussy's ‘En blanc et noir’ was laid bare. For sure, Howat and Kilpatrick have a deep intellectual understanding of their repertoire, and the technical skill to perform it.
Mark de Raad and the rest of the board of Recitals Australia are to be applauded for entrepreneuring such a unique concert. Programs of this nature with artists of the calibre of Howat and Kilpatrick are rarities and are to be greatly cherished. Having said that, it was disappointing to see so many empty seats. Adelaide, please embrace these opportunities - they are all too rare.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Elder Hall
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Adelaide Town Hall. 12 Sep 2014
Beethoven is arguably the best known and most loved composer of them all. His music has made an impression on us all, and even those who would who would rather clean the Christmas Pageant chalk off King William Street with their tongues than go to an orchestral concert know some of Beethoven’s music. I remember my first introduction to his music when as a lad I was totally struck by Schroeder in a Charlie Brown Xmas TV Special sitting at his baby grand piano playing the opening bars to the Moonlight Sonata. I remember my first Ninth Symphony and my first Fifth. I remember Clemens Leske and Beryl Kimber in an Elder Hall lunch-time during university days introducing me to the excitement and exquisite boldness of the Kreutzer Sonata, and if I thought about it I’m sure I could recall other exquisite memories of Beethoven moments from the recesses of my mind.
So to Beethoven Festival 1, one of the key events in the festival that the ASO has ever so carefully and thoughtfully curated.
Conductor Nicholas McGegan took the Symphony No.1 at a comfortable, no-surprises, traditional pace, and the phrasing and articulation of the orchestra was first rate. Beethoven broke many of the established classical rules in this composition, and McGegan was able to remind us of this with his no-fuss approach to dynamics and thoughtful tempi.
The Symphony was followed by the Leonore Overture No. 1, which is less substantial and enjoyable than the Leonore Overture No.3, which is a crowd pleaser.
Natsuko Yoshimoto again demonstrated that she is a world-class violinist and her heartfelt performance of the Romance No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra was sublimely melancholy. McGegan ceded much control to Yoshimoto and she repaid his trust in spades.
Quite probably the audience was mostly looking forward to Stephen Hough performing the mighty Piano Concerto No. 5 “The Emperor”. I was! Hough is an imposing looking musician. He is tall and slender, and has a tight steely gaze. He is exciting to watch – there are dramatic moments as he attacks the keyboard, almost with Lisztian arrogance, and as he earnestly looks around at members of the orchestra as if to say that he is with them and we’re all in this together. The adagio movement was played with serene simplicity and Hough extracted crystal-clear bell-like tones from the upper register of the Steinway that gave an uncommon lightness to the performance. His rubato and attack in the extended cadenza almost drew the audience to their feet before McGegan had a chance to extract the final crashing chord from the piano and orchestra.
The appreciation of the audience was thunderous, and Hough, McGegan and the members of the ASO looked mighty pleased with themselves, as they should.
Beethoven Festival 2 is next week, when we will be treated to Leonore No.2 (not No. 3 dammit!), the first piano concerto performed by the great Robert Levin, and the pure explosion of exuberance and joy that is the Eighth symphony. Bring it on!
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed