Notes from the hard road and beyond at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl - a musical collaboration from revolution to redemption. It was presenting songs from civil rights, anti-war and women's suffrage to environmentalism, feminism and the abolition movement in a glorious and daring celebration of the music of protest, rebellion, love and hope from such artists as Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Leonard Cohen, Pete Seeger and Green Day, to name just a few.
There was a large and wonderful band that was fronted by Mavis Staples (whose personal and musical history is inseparably enmeshed with the US civil rights movement and the life of Dr Martin Luther King), Joss Stone, (the ever quirky) Rickie Lee Jones, Paul Dempsey (founder of Something For Kate), Emmanuel Jal (Sudanese hip-hop artist), The Black Arm Band (this year including Archie Roach, Shane Howard, Mark Atkins, Lou Bennett, Emma Donovan and Shellie Morris) and John Schumann (from the band Redgum).
Based on the theme and the musicians, it was looking to be a good gig, but it was more than that. I think that the extra dimension was that the songs had meaning and came from somewhere - they had a relevance and importance that people could associate with. To add to that, there were big screens up that showed accompanying historical video clips from the times and related to the music. Before most songs, there was an introduction as to where it came from and what they related to. The first half of the show was about struggle and the second was more about redemption.
So what of the music and performances? Well, here is what occurred: |
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1.
The recorded audio of Gil Scott Heron accompanied by live percussion. A great start and still quite a powerful vocal. Thought provoking.
2.
Shane Howard and Paul Dempsey. Two songs that linked together very well and two performers who worked well together. You could tell it was going to be a good night by this time. Brotherhood.
3.
Lou Bennett with Shane Howard and Paul Dempsey. Great performance and the strength of the band began to show. Solid.
4. (instrumental version)
The music behind the Frankie Goes to Hollywood song. Full band and sound - but it didn't grab me and left me with nothing. Hmmm.
5.
John Schumann with Shane Howard. Not a song that I was familiar with - it was written about the Vietnam war and was accompanied by some very real video footage that made it a more powerful performance. Interesting.
6.
Emmanuel Jal and DJ Silvastone with Emma Donovan, Shellie Morris and Lou Bennett. Emmanuel Jai was born into the life of a child soldier in Sudan and survived unbelievable struggles to emerge and now spread a message of peace and understanding. This song was musically great and great performances from all concerned and good lyrics. Having said that, I didn't connect with it, but enjoyed it anyway. Energetic.
7.
Emma Donovan with Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett and choir. I've seen Emma a few times now and also have a CD of hers - she has a superb and powerful voice. Her version of this song was fantastic - she showed great emotion and added layers to the song. A highlight.
8.
Mark Atkins plays the didgeridoo like no other. He not only plays it, but performs through it. Another performer I have seen on a number of occasions and he grabs people's attention throughout his performances and pulls everyone's attention into one place. Powerful.
9.
Joss Stone. Joss has a big voice and she uses it in her own style that puts different shades on phrases and that allows her to make songs quite unique to herself. This is a good song anyway and she did a fair version with a strong band behind her. Big.
10.
Paul Dempsey with Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett and Emma Donovan. It's a Leonard Cohen song, so it's hard to be bad - this was far from bad and Paul performed a version that was clearly his and had great merit and personality. Well worth it until he tacked onto the end of it a quick burst of American Idiot that just undid what he had done in terms of what it left the listener with. It was like we had watched him paint a picture and he finished it by scribbling over the top of it. Any Leonard is good.
11.
Rickie Lee Jones with Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett and Emma Donovan. This could have been good but it failed as the attempts to harmonise missed their mark and there is little that is good that can come through that. If it had juts been Rickie singing alone, it would have worked. This was the only failure of the night though. Oh dear.
12.
Archie Roach with Shane Howard and Lou Bennett. what can you say? I have seen this one performed by Archie many times and it has a power and emotion that always hits home. This was no exception. Archie looked frail, but once he starts performing, he finds what he needs. This show had to have Archie and this song in it. Marvellous.
13.
Shane Howard with Emma Donovan, Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett and Rachael Maza. Another staple of such shows as this and another very solid performance. Staple.
14.
Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, Shellie Morris, Emma Donovan and Lou Bennett. I just adore Mavis and her voice is unique and rich and her soul is strong and true. This was a grand version of the song and all the girls contributed to make it a great performance. They may have lost their way at the end in finding how to finish the song, but that really didn't matter. They all were having a ball and the crowd were loving it too. Sisterhood.
15.
Mavis Staples with Rickie Lee Jones and ensemble (Emma Donovan, Rachael Maza, Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett, Emmanuel Jal, Joss Stone, Archie Roach, Shane Howard and Paul Dempsey. A feast of music and energy and more pleasure for all to enjoy. Togetherness.
16.
Mavis Staples with Emma Donovan, Shellie Morris and Lou Bennett. More Mavis is always welcome. She was having fun and seemed to be thriving on performing with the other girls. I was lapping all this up. Great stuff.
Interval
17.
Joss Stone. Though this was a good version of the song, it was one of the few occasions that was just performing a song - most songs had extra aspects to them that made them special on the night - this was good but nothing special. Fair.
18.
Rickie Lee Jones. A great performance - it was true Rickie - a interesting and a personal performance that seemed to charm even those who weren't fans. Quirky.
19.
Archie Roach and Rickie Lee Jones. A lovely duet and a beautiful song. Tender.
20.
Archie Roach. Talk about having the audience in the palm of your hand. There wasn't a sound in the audience as Archie charmed us all with a great performance and rendition. Wonderful.
21.
Emmanuel Jal with Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett, Emma Donovan and Choir. Another good song that was well performed and had good energy. But as a performer, Emmauel didn't add as much as you'd expect, but it is still good. Leaping fun.
22.
Paul Dempsey and Joss Stone. Good choice of song and well performed. It is a great song but hard to do anything new with it. I enjoyed this version. Classic.
23.
Mavis Staples with Joss Stone and Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett and Emma Donovan. A great song and one that belonged to this show. They all got into this and Mavis was loving it - so much so that she forgot that the song had to end. Great.
24.
Rickie Lee Jones and ensemble – Emmanuel Jal, Emma Donovan, Rachael Maza, Shellie Morris, Lou Bennett, Rickie Lee Jones, Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, Archie Roach, Shane Howard and Paul Dempsey. this became the anthem of the "Keep Music Live" campaign in Melbourne over the last couple of years. This was a superb song to finish with and was belted out with gusto. Happy days.
Encore
25.
Joss Stone's best performance of the night. A good way to the finish the night. Soul. |
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| It really was a wonderful show with a great band and great performers. A superb collection of songs that were mostly performed with character and feeling. The organisers set up a great concept and the band backed up some strong arrangements. The show that was presented was worthy of being the finale to the Melbourne Festival. It was also filmed and will be on TV soon - I look forward to seeing it and am interested to see whether it translates as well on the screen as it did live. |
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