Bonnie Prince Billy

Festival Gardens

February 24, 2012

Bonnie Prince Billy is the type of guy you would probably try to avoid if he came up to you on the street.

Dressed in loosely fitting denim, balding with an overgrown beard and possessing a piercing stare, Billy - or William to his mother - looks like a very fairly complicated individual; A little too complicated for a friendly chat on the street.

But as the adage says: don't judge a book by its cover, because when he sings - oh lord when he sings - it is pure bliss.

Billy literally enthralled the Festival Gardens crowd on Friday night.

The Kentucky-based singer-songwriter was in top form for the PIAF crowd despite "everything being inside out and turned upside down" after arriving in Perth on Thursday from his Louisville home for this memorable show.

With more than 15 albums to his name Billy had a lot to choose from. Highlights from the two-hour set included a stirring rendition of New Partner from his 2004 album Greatest Palace Music, which was hard to beat.

But when the chords of the haunting I Called You Back - with it's beautiful three-part harmonies - followed, the crowd simply fell in love.

The enigmatic Billy was well supported by the vocal sensibilities of the Cairo Gang's Angel Olson, who sounded like a modern day Dolly Parton, and the brilliant guitar work of Emmett Kelly.

The duo were the perfect antidotes to Billy's general eccentric brilliance. After leaving the stage for the end of the a brief moment - where Angel had to have some treatment for sun burn - they returned for a brilliant five-song encore.
It was simply a breathtaking set, which will be remembered by all in attendance for a long time.