Cessnock Arts Centre
Saturday September 6, 2014 :
Kicking off early in the set with the song ‘Everyday Above Ground Is A Good Day’ probably best describes James Reyne who is a true survivor in the Australian music industry. Reyne jumped to popularity back in the late 70’s as lead singer of iconic pub band Australian Crawl. My first memory of them was watching Reyne on countdown with both arms in plaster a result of an “indisposed” car accident some weeks earlier. Just like that accident didn’t stop him going on stage, Reyne has fought over the years to remain at the top of his craft constantly reinventing himself. Drawing energy in anything from a pub gig to cutting an album dedicated to the king of rock & roll Elvis Presley, Reyne is a musical survivor. On Saturday night the audience got to see him at his best raw and stripped back.
Accompanied by long time guitarist “Burgs”, Reyne took the stage dressed casually and looking fantastic for all of his 57 years. Given many of his singing comrades’ have fallen Reyne could easily pass for a man in his mid-40’s – lean, energetic and dare I say, very cool.
Opening the show with the Dingoes classic ‘Way Out West’ made re-famous by James Blundell and himself in the 80’s the sound was crisp, his voice as distinct as ever. It was always going to be a night of hits. ‘Lakeside’, the Australian Crawl classic from Sirocco, followed by ‘Downhearted’. Reyne’s solo career promptly took over the show, firstly with a song about a shark, ‘Hammerhead’, moving quickly into ‘Fall of Rome’, ‘One More River’ and ‘Motor’s Too Fast’. For me Reyne’s movement into his current album, Thirteen, was the standout ‘English Girls’, followed by Reyne’s self-disclosed autobiographical song ‘Capsize’.
“Anyone want to get a drink? We can play some J.J. Cale while you order” offering the audience a unscheduled refreshment option before breaking into ‘Errol’ and ‘Oh No Not You Again’, Burgs intro on the latter was a real highlight. Just as quick as it started Reyne left the stage to an admiring crowd only to return for one final encore song. ‘The Boys Light Up’.
I, like the mature crowd that joined James Reyne on the rainy cold night left feeling satisfied, not stuffed, just sufficiently fed with Australian pub history. There was even room left for a coffee on the way home as I reminisced of times gone by. For the almost 40 years James Reyne has graced every pub and club in the land. In a time where his “party boys” are hanging up their guitars he continues to record quality music I don’t see him slowing down.
I cannot end this review without mentioning Reyne’s support for the evening. At seventeen, Tegan Wiseman is a name worth filing. Like a lot of angry teenagers, she comes complete with a full set of baggage and you can’t help but draw parallels to a young Missy Higgins. There is obvious original talent there and someone definitely worth watching in the future.
Reviewer and Photographer: David Jackson
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