Brunswick Music Festival: Dolly

The Brunswick Music Festival is currently happening in venues around town, and tonight I went to Estonian House for a very special tribute to the legendary Dolly Parton. Coming together to sing some of Dolly's most loved songs as well as a few rarities were Emily Lubitz (Tinpan Orange), Loretta Miller, Emma Donovan, Sarah Mary Chadwick and Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy). Everyone took turns singing either solo or in small pairings alongside a fantastic house band.

Emily Lubitz opened the show on autoharp with "Coat Of Many Colors." Highlights from the evening included Emma Donovan's powerhouse vocals on "Jolene" and "Harper Valley P.T.A.," Alex Gow singing the rarity "Down From Dover," and Loretta Miller doing an amazing version of "I Will Always Love You." Alex and Loretta dueted on the classic "Islands In The Stream," which inspired some people in the crowd to come up front and dance, and then it turned into a big celebration as everyone came back out on stage to sing the final song of the evening, "9 To 5." It was a wonderful to hear each artist's interpretation of Dolly's songs, and huge kudos to the house band who did an incredible job learning all the songs that were played tonight.

Mclean Stephenson and Alexander Gow Photography Exhibition

Tonight Mary, Belinda and I attended the opening of a photography exhibition by Sydney-based photographer Mclean Stephenson and Melbourne Oh Mercy frontman Alexander Gow at Memphis Projects in Abbotsford.

Contained in one large room, it was interesting to observe the contrasting styles of their photographs in the exhibition. While Alex's photos were mainly black and white portraits of friends and fellow musicians, Mclean's photos were a more abstract mix of people and landscapes. There was a nice turn out for the opening which included many of the subjects in Alex's photos, as well as Henry Wagons, who played a part in the black eye Alex was sporting from a recent a game of squash.

The exhibition runs from 22-23 February 2019, or you can check out their works online on their sites.

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders- Blue Poles Tour

Last night was the launch of Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders new album Blue Poles at the Corner Hotel. Mary and I got there for the last few songs by electronic act Golden Syrup (aka Sara Retallick).

Next on the bill was Alex Gow from Oh Mercy doing a solo set. It's never a great sign when someone needs to use an asthma inhaler to be able to sing, and Alex was on his three times throughout the set due to a cold. He opened with a cover of Ed Kuepper's "This Hideous Place" and played a mix of songs from his last few albums ranging from the brooding "Iron Cross" and "Lady Eucalyptus" to the more uptempo "Sandy" and "Deep Heat." Alex invited Liam McGorry to join him on stage to play trumpet on "National Park" and his new unreleased track "Time And Date In New York," which was the last song he played. Despite not feeling great Alex powered through his short set.

The room was pretty full by the time Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders took to the stage. The set list featured many songs from Blue Poles, with highlights being "Can't Say," "White Flag," "Blue Mirror," and my favorite "Susan." Jack's baritone voice and the cool vibe of the band had the crowd entranced from the start, with bassist Donny Benet getting a couple of shout outs during the evening. The set also contained some tracks from previous releases, including "Cold Feet," "Come On Back This Way," and "Hurtsville" with Alex joining the band on acoustic guitar. Overall it was an entertaining night with two of Australia's most talented lyricists.

Here's the video for "Susan":

Alex Gow and Dan Kelly- The Australian Dreamers Tour

Alex Gow (Oh Mercy) and Dan Kelly's Australian Dreamers Tour has been working its way around the country for the past four weeks. Luckily for me there was a second swing through Victoria so Belinda and I took a little road trip to Geelong for tonight's final show of the tour at The Workers Club.

It was a small and intimate crowd at the venue (possibly due to Geelong playing footy this evening). Emma Russack was the opening act and did a solo set on electric guitar. She sounded good and I really enjoyed her last song about wishing she knew her famous older ex-boyfriend in his prime.

The format for these shows was Alex and Dan playing both solo and together on each other's songs. Alex came out first and opened the evening with "Lady Eucalyptus" and "Iron Cross" before Dan joined him on stage for "Sandy." It was then Alex's turn to depart as Dan played "Baby Bonus" and "Ex Bandido" solo. The guys were quite funny with their introductions to songs and assorted requests to the soundman for different vocal effects on their mics (e.g. whale, Mary MacKillop). Dan got the audience involved in singing along to the chorus for "Everything's Amazing" and "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam." The guys did a tropicalia version of Oh Mercy's "Drums" and a shortened "On The Run" off Dan's Leisure Panic! album.

Alex played "My Man" and "Deep Heat" solo, and was quite thrilled to no longer have to play the harmonica solo again for the later after tonight (I actually didn't mind the harmonica as it was a bit of a throw back to those early Oh Mercy shows). Dan and Alex rejoined forces for "Never Stop The Rot" and ended the evening with a very psychedelic version of "Dan Kelly's Dream" which had Alex on keys and samples and also included a bit of Canned Heat's "On The Road Again." It was a great show and I wish I had been in town to catch the earlier Melbourne date.

Here are a couple songs Alex and Dan did together in May as part of Tram Sessions:

Alexander Gow- MPavilion

This morning, as part of Melbourne Music Week's Morning Ritual and the Face the Music conference, we were treated to a concert by Alexander Gow of Oh Mercy at the MPavilion in the Queen Victoria Gardens. Unfortunately it was a drizzly and chilly start to the day, but at least the structure designed by AL_A kept people dry.

Alex played an acoustic set and started (ironically?) with "Deep Heat." We got to hear "Let Me Be Him," "Iron Cross," and "Lady Eucalyptus" off of his latest album When We Talk About Love, and "Drums" and "My Man" from Deep Heat. The two special moments of the set were getting to hear the unreleased track "Get On" live for the first time, and Alex's cover of the Leonard Cohen song "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong." It was a lovely way to my Friday, and as always, a pleasure to see Alex play live.

You can check out the When We Talk About Love acoustic series on the Oh Mercy Facebook page. Also, here's a video of "Without You" from the Parlour gig I attended in June (hint- you may see someone you know in it).

Unplugged Live: Anne-Marie May and Alexander Gow

Unplugged Live is back for a six week run on Sunday afternoons at the NGV Australia. Curated and hosted by Jae Laffer of The Panics, each session brings together a contemporary artist and musician for a discussion and performance in the gallery space. This afternoon's event began with Melbourne visual artist Anne-Marie May. She talked about the processes she goes through in creating her works, which are sculptural and utilise different materials. Anne-Marie has two pieces that currently feature in The Kaleidoscopic Turn exhibition: Untitled (Construction of coloured rays), which is made from felt, and RGB (Mobile), which is made from thermally formed acrylic.

The second half hour involved Alexander Gow from Oh Mercy. He and Jae have known each other for 8 years when a young Oh Mercy opened for The Panics, and their drummer Myles produced Oh Mercy's debut album Privileged Woes. Their chat covered a variety of topics, including the songwriting process, being creative and making something beautiful (which happens for Alex when is happy and healthy), the representations of himself at a certain age on each album, and the influence of Australia and his upbringing on his music.

Interspersed between the discussion segments were the songs "Cool Water," "Lady Eucalyptus," "Iron Cross" and "Let Me Be Him," which sounded heavenly in the acoustics of the room. Alex talked about the writing of these songs and others for the latest album When We Talk About Love in Nashville, and the benefits of being an outsider not writing country music there. The most interesting bit of the chat for me was towards the end when Alex spoke about his creative ambition to explore the essence of him and get that into a song, which is why he prefers to work by himself at this point in his career.

Paul Dempsey- 3 Cities Tour

Paul Dempsey's 3 Cities Tour was initially just three shows in three cities, but he added a second show in Melbourne, which is what Mary and I attended last night.  This was the first of two sold out shows at the Corner Hotel.  The opening act was Alexander Gow from Oh Mercy.  Alex and Paul first met on the 2011 They Will Have Their Way: The Songs Of Tim And Neil Finn tour.  I was super excited when he was announced as the support act because it's been over a year since we last saw Alex play live.  His set list contained three new songs, including "I Am A Man," as well as old favorites "Drums," "Lady Eucalyptus," "My Man," "Deep Heat," "Get You Back" and "Keith St."  Alex closed his set with an impassioned cover of The Waterboys' "The Whole Of The Moon."

As this tour is just Paul solo on acoustic guitar it has allowed him to draw on songs from his solo catalogue, material from his band Something For Kate, as well as a few new tracks.  Paul was mesmerising to watch play as he sung his songs from the heart and was able to get so many different sound dynamics out of his acoustic guitar.  Highlights included "Private Rain," "Ramona Was A Waitress," "Bird In A Basement," and "Asleep At The Wheel."  Alex came out about half way through the set to join Paul for the Something For Kate song "Stunt Show," new Oh Mercy track "Cool Water" and a cover of The Motels' "Total Control."  Paul also played a cover of David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" as part of the encore.  Overall it was an amazing evening with two great Australian singer-songwriters.

Here's a little interview with Paul and Alex around the time of the They Will Have Their Way tour and their version of one of my favorite Crowded House songs, "Kare Kare."

Alexander Gow- The Red Hummingbird

Photo by Mary

One of the benefits of living in Melbourne is impromptu gigs by your favorite local bands.  Although Alexander Gow from Oh Mercy has relocated to Portland, Oregon he was back in town this week being filmed for a "Where Are They Now" bit for the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards (SOYA), which Oh Mercy won for music in 2009.

Mary, Tash and I met up after work at The Red Hummingbird to watch this intimate set by Alex solo on electric guitar.  It was good to hear these Oh Mercy songs live again and stripped back, especially "Rebel Beats," "Drums," "My Man" and a particularly strong version of "Suffocated."  We were also treated to a couple new songs, one about courting a woman of faith, and another called "Cool Water" which I really liked.  Alex joked he sang them to prove to himself and us that he has actually done something over the past four months in the States.  The set finished with an impassioned cover of The Waterboy's "Fisherman's Blues" and the title track "Deep Heat."  There is a new "trans-Pacific" version of Oh Mercy about to emerge at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City in October and hopefully some shows along the West Coast soon (I was strongly advocating for one when I am home in December- I will get you a crowd Alex!).

Here is Alex performing "Drums" solo for Tram Sessions last year:

They Will Have Their Way: The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn

Tonight Tash, Mary and I met up in St Kilda for the They Will Have Their Way tribute concert featuring the songs of Tim and Neil Finn.  After a quick dinner at Grill'd we headed over to the Palais Theatre and took our seats in the orchestra section.  The performers on this tour all feature on the newly repackaged They Will Have Their Way album: Sarah Blasko, Holly Throsby, and Sally Seltmann (solo and as Seeker Lover Keeper), Paul Dempsey, Clare Bowditch, Lior, and Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy).  Each artist played several songs either by themselves or with others.  There was also a backing band to round out the sound of the songs, which spanned all eras of Tim and Neil's careers: Split Enz, Crowded House, Finn Brothers, and solo.  

There were so many great versions of the songs, but my favorites were Clare, Sarah, Holly and Sally doing "Fall At Your Feet," Lior's "Into Temptation," Sarah's "My Mistake," Paul's "Message To My Girl," Seeker Lover Keeper's "Sinner," Paul and Clare's "Turn and Run" (the one song I was hoping would get played), and Alex's "Now We're Getting Somewhere."  I felt the crowd was subdued and a bit dull since they wouldn't really sing along or interact.  Clare and Alex were the funny ones on the night and had us laughing a lot.  The encore saw all the artists come onto the stage to finish with "It's Only Natural" and "Weather With You."  All in all it was a great show with some interesting interpretations of the Finns' amazing songs.

Dan Sultan and Alexander Gow

When Dan Sultan and Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy) announced their tour together, Tash suggested we make a weekend of it and see them play in Castlemaine as she wanted to check out the Theatre Royal.  Yesterday Mary and I drove to Ballarat to meet up with Tash and Michelle for lunch at a pub (also so Tash could watch the footy).  It was good to briefly catch up with Michelle before she had to head down to Melbourne for a family dinner.  After the footy match was finished we headed back to Tash's place where her work colleague Michelle met us and then we hit the road for Castlemaine.

Central Victoria is a bit of a foodie hotbed and we had a fantastic dinner at the Public Inn.  They serve wine directly from the barrel and I had a delicious and filling potato gnocchi.  After eating we headed to the Theatre Royal for the gig, and were let into the venue once the dining service was done for those who had tickets for dinner and the show.  Both Dan and Alexander came out on stage at the start and played three songs together, including Icehouse's "Great Southern Land" and the Oh Mercy track "Keith St."

Dan left the stage and Alexander played his solo set on both acoustic and electric guitar.  He started with "On The Run" and we got a mix of tracks from both albums: "Mercy Valley," "Hold Out Your Hand," "Blue Lagoon," "Lay Everything On Me," "Get You Back" and "Stay Please Stay." We were lucky enough to hear three new songs titled "My Man," "Europa" and "Lady Eucalyptus," as well as a few covers.  Alexander was funny and charming throughout his set despite some rude, noisy people at the bar.  He was also loving his eye drops, applying them a few times during the evening.  He closed his set with Bruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Street" so that he, like Dan, would have a song about cars in his set (although he didn't understand the first two verses of the song).

After an intermission Dan came out to play his solo set starting on piano and then switching to guitar.  His grandmother was in the audience (at the table in front of us) and he told stories throughout the night about his time in Castlemaine with relatives while he was growing up.  Dan played songs from his two albums, including "Old Fitzroy," "Enemy," "Get Out While You Can," "Nyul Nyul Girl" and a very powerful rendition of "Roslyn."  He came back out for an encore of a couple of songs and then invited Alexander to rejoin him on stage.  They finished the night with covers of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" and Hoodoo Gurus' "I Want You Back."  It was a really great show, and I had a brief chat with Alexander afterwards.  I thanked him for explaining the lyrics to "Mercy Valley," and since Oh Mercy will be in the States while I am there hopefully I'll be able to catch a show if the timing works out.

We headed out into the cold and hit the road to drive back to Ballarat.  Mary and I stayed the night at Tash's miner's cottage (or the igloo as we called it before the heater kicked in) and then drove back to Melbourne this morning.  It's always nice to go on a little road trip, especially when I don't have a car here.