Hot Damn!
By Natasha David
Intense anticipation accompanied me to the recent and final Orphanage Session of the year. After all I was about to witness in person the “darlings of the Adelaide alt-country”, the Huckleberry Swedes!
Having missed the last few sessions, it was great to get back to the intimate atmosphere of the Mars Hill Café, with its laid-back atmosphere and up-close and-personal accessibility.
The sessions are certainly building momentum, with a record-breaking turn-out, requiring extra chairs throughout the first set for eager listeners.
Kicking off in their inimitable style, Dear Orphans played favourites such as Comfortability, Baby Girl, Destiny and Captain Starlight.
Lyn’s sweet vocals, Nick’s true-blue style and Mike Kirkley on pedal steel, enveloped the audience in a comforting cocoon. Moving on, they played their best-known number, Rain, now immortalised on the Home Grown Roots Volume 3 compilation. They finished off with Long Day leaving the stage ready for the Huckleberry Swedes.
Dear Orphans are currently editing their first album, due for release in 2009.
The special guests for the night were the Huckleberry Swedes, already very well known on the scene, and taken under the wing of Bill Chambers himself who reportedly had their demo on his mixer for a year before listening to it, sparking him to immediately contact them to tour.
I immediately understood why, as they kicked off with Black Gold, a blend of ultra-cool rhythmic, almost bluesy song with lead vocalist Troy Loakes’ clear warm vocals surging upwards, upwards then further upwards on the chorus…. It took my breath away.
I am a sucker for harmonising, and these guys nail it. This is evident on numbers such as Wild Peach Pie that begins with acapella 4-part harmony.
The Swedes’ energetic, rocking numbers such as Small Cage, Big Landare beautifully balanced by balladic songs such as Dust Storms Fallingand Black Gold.
Their cheeky sense of humour is also evident in numbers such as Cast a Line, as well Troy’s asking of the audience - “how many of you are from the city?” His immediate answer from the audience revealed that not many had come from the “Big Smoke”, but that some audience members had even travelled from as far as the Blue Mountains to hear them play!
The Swedes also payed homage to influences such as Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen with a cover of The Ghost of Tom Joad. Their encore is also another homage to Patty Griffin with a cover of her song Making Pies.
Not only is this band one of the more professional-sounding, fun and “together” combos I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in a long while, they are all so gosh darn polite! Thanking the audience members and The Orphans multiple times over for having them play! Judging from the chorus of “ENCORE” after they announced their final number, I believe we were all in agreement that the pleasure was all ours!
I struggle to express why this band makes it all look and sound “too easy”, in the words of an audience member after the show. They seem ultra cool, relaxed on stage, enjoying themselves immensely and generating an energy that the audience picks up and feeds back to them.
But it’s their sound that defines them, with Troy Loakes on lead guitar and vocals, accompanied by Mark Elberg on electric guitar and vocals; Sam “Clancy” Willoughby on bass and vocals, Richard “The Judge” Coates on keyboard, and the amazingly masterful percussionist, BJ Barker.
Their sound is augmented by their showmanship, encouraging the audience to sing along with Baby’s Gonna Lift Me Up, which we all do enthusiastically. Troy engages with the audience on each number, gesturing and throwing his emotions behind each lyric as he sings. The others are equally energetic, watching them you couldn’t imagine they are happier doing anything else!
Speaking to Troy after the show, he was all praise for The Orphanage Sessions, saying “it’s been the most professional gigs we’ve played at, well promoted and a great vibe from the venue and audience.”
To know more, check out the website or drop Dear Orphans an email.
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