It's been eight years since Seeker Lover Keeper released their debut album. The supergroup featuring Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby are back and played a couple intimate shows in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of the August release of their new album Wild Seeds. I was fortunate to get a ticket to last night's sold out show at the Northcote Social Club.
I arrived for the second opening act, Alice Skye, who just managed to make the show after flight delays from Sydney. She played a short and mellow set that featured songs from her debut album Friends With Feelings. Accompanied by a guitarist and playing keys, she joked that she was bringing the room down with her more somber songs.
Seeker Lover Keeper then hit the stage in full band mode and treated us to a sneak peak of Wild Seeds as they played the new album in full from start to finish. There was not one dud song in the bunch and they took turns singing lead and harmonising together. The banter was quite funny and a bit awkward at times, and included some running commentary on Sarah’s throat gargling in the upstairs toilet (which an audience member walked in on).
After they were done playing Wild Seeds they did a few tracks from their first album with "Light All My Lights," "On My Own," and the anthemic "Even Though I’m A Woman" to finish the main set. For the encore the three of them came back out and sang "Bring Me Back" to close out the night. It was an excellent show and I'm looking forward to getting the album when it comes out.
Here's the video for "Let It Out" featuring Magda Szubanski
Another year is coming to a close which can only mean one thing- time for all those end of year top ten lists. Not to be left out, here are my top ten favorite songs for 2011 (aka songs that make me want to hit repeat after having just listened to them).
10. Slow Dancer "Leave It To Me" Slow Dancer is the solo project of Simon Okely from Oh Mercy. "Leave It To Me" is the first song he has put up online and I really love the laid back feel to Simon's music as well as his excellent guitar playing. Definitely one to watch for 2012.
9. The Good China "No More Maps, No More Roads"
2011 saw the return of The Good China to the Melbourne live scene after nearly a year's hiatus. The single "No More Maps, No More Roads" was a live favorite and has all the great hallmarks of a Good China track, including lots of hand claps.
8. Boy & Bear "Feeding Line"
It has been a monster year for Sydney's Boy & Bear, having won 5 ARIA awards for their debut album Moonfire. "Feeding Line" was the first single off the album, and signaled a new musical direction for the band from their previous EP.
7. The Harpoons "Keep You Around"
Another favorite band of mine that reemerged this year was The Harpoons. "Keep You Around" showcases Bec Rigby's soulful voice in this song about love with the great lyric "when you smiled at me I was a hopeless case." I am definitely looking forward to their debut album coming out in 2012.
6. Liam Finn "Don't Even Know Your Name"
This song was not a single but it's my favorite track off Liam Finn's latest album FOMO. "Don't Even Know Your Name" has a driving beat and an optimistic energy to it, and I absolutely love the chorus (which for some reason reminds me of "Panic" by The Smiths). Here's a live version of song, but do seek out the album track.
5. Brous "Streamers"
The first single off of Brous' self-titled debut EP, "Streamers" sounds like a song from a 1960s James Bond film. Sophia Brous' voice is quite amazing and I love how the first verse of this song keeps speeding up. There is a definite cinematic quality to her music and it will be interesting to see what she produces next.
4. Seeker Lover Keeper "Even Though I'm A Woman" Seeker Lover Keeper is the female Australian supergroup made up of Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby. One of the initial singles off of their self-titled debut album, "Even Though I'm A Woman" is a song about long distance love sung by Holly and written by Sally with some biting lyrics such as "I love you more when I'm missing you, it's why I'm always away." The song is a bit of an anthem for female independence.
3. Kimbra "Cameo Lover" Kimbra is originally from New Zealand but has been living in Melbourne the past few years. "Cameo Lover" come off of her debut album Vows and won her the 2011 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition as well as an ARIA award for best female artist. I love the contrast between the verses and chorus of this song as well as its fantastic video.
2. Gotye "State Of The Art"
You may have thought that I would pick Gotye's biggest hit to date, but no, my favorite song off of his latest album Making Mirrors is "State Of The Art." Only Wally would write a song about his beloved Lowrey Cotillion organ. My favorite part of the song is when the bossa nova rhythm kicks in to the lyric "start the bossa nova beat and limbo from the living to the kitchen." The video animation by Rubber House is also exceptional.
1. Oh Mercy "Stay Please Stay"
My most played song of the year is Oh Mercy's "Stay Please Stay," the first single off their second album Great Barrier Grief. I absolutely adore the chorus of this song, especially Thomas Savage's beautiful jangly guitar. It also has a great closing lyric by Alexander with "what can I do with a love that gathers dust in a busy room?" An indie pop classic.
Last night I went to St. David's Cathedral in Hobart to see Seeker Lover Keeper play a sold out show. This Heavenly Sounds tour is taking place in churches and cathedrals around the country. Not only are the venues and acoustics amazing, but the crowd is silent and attentive during the songs. What a luxury these days for an Australian show.
The opening act was Henry Wagons of the band Wagons. He was great and played a set of country tinged music solo on acoustic guitar. Henry was very entertaining with his stage banter and had a song about "Willie Nelson," his own version of "The Gambler," and requested that guys don't date his sister on "Keep Your Eyes Off My Sister."
Seeker Lover Keeper started the evening with "Bring You Back." Sarah, Sally and Holly were in a relaxed and fun mood throughout the night, and their voices and harmonies in that cathedral sounded fantastic. They played the entire Seeker Lover Keeper album and highlights included "Light All My Lights," "Everytime," "We Will Know What It Is" and the always moving "If The Night Is Dark" (with my favorite lyric "This is my home, this is where I belong"). We even got their They Will Have Their Way contribution of Neil Finn's "Sinner," which was an interesting cover choice considering the venues on this tour. They also each played one of their own songs, with Sarah doing "Bird On A Wire," Sally playing New Buffalo's "Emotional Champ," and Holly doing "What I Thought Of You." The main set ended with "Rest Your Head On My Shoulder" and for the encore they played a cover of Stevie Nick's "Wild Heart" and then finished with "Even Though I'm A Woman." It was exciting to see these three ladies play together live again before they head back to their respective solo careers.
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.
Seagull opened up the evening with a half hour set. He played electric guitar and was accompanied by a female keyboardist. I wasn't sure how well he'd go down with the crowd, and people started talking after a couple songs. However it was good to hear older tracks such as "Dust Storm" and "Train Tracks," and he finished with "Company" off his Council Tree album.
Seeker Lover Keeper came out and began with "Bring Me Back" before bringing out their two male touring band members on drums and bass. This project has Sarah, Sally and Holly singing lead on songs that each other have written. They played the entire Seeker Lover Keeper album and highlights for me included "Even Though I'm A Woman," "Light All My Lights," "We Will Know What It Is," and the moving "If The Night Is Dark." Their harmonies were amazing and the musicianship great to watch as they switched off on piano and guitar. For the encore they came out and did covers of each other's solo material, including Sarah's "We Won't Run," and finished off the night with a cover of Stevie Nicks' "Wild Heart."
