Musical trio mesmerise
CONCERT
Neil Finn/Gurrumul/Megan Washington
4 stars
Sandalford, Margaret River
Review: Stephen Bevis
It was a night of three sublime singer-songwriters overcoming less than sublime conditions. The stars had aligned to give us a trio at the peak of their powers but the drizzly, cold weather and an uncomfortably squeezy venue almost stole some of the magic.
As a chill wind whipped off Sandalford's frog-filled lake, Megan Washington opened proceedings with Limitless, from her latest album There There. Backed only by guitarist Alex Bennison, the 28-year-old's strong, true voice and confessional open-hearted lyrics testified to the fact that singing comes to her as a sweet relief.
"There's a certain kind of lonely/Where you sleep in your jeans," she sang. It was only later in her set, after a shout-out to her parents in the audience (and a plea to fetch them more wine), that those words took on more meaning with a funny seat-of-the-pants revelation.
Washington had tied on a big one after her show in Sydney the night before and missed her flight to Perth. A series of misadventures and rescheduled arrangements managed to get her to Sandalford's Margaret River winery with just five minutes to spare before she was due to go on stage.
Admitting to a "cracking hangover", she said she was still in the clothes she had worn out the night before. "I want to own it because I feel like a jerk," she said to the laughs of the crowd.
Stripped back from their 80s-infused indie-op original arrangements, accompanied only by guitar and occasionally piano, Washington's songs are revealed as gems of lyrical and melodic invention. She mined her best songs from There There (Yellow and Blue, Begin Again), her 2010 debut album I Believe You Liar (Sunday Best, Cement, Navy Blues) and her 2011 EP Insomnia (Sentimental education).
In the mitigating circumstances of her arrival, Washington delivered a charming, solid show. She had an easy, relaxed manner with the crowd and would have won over plenty of new fans.
A particular treat for this grey-haired reviewer was her wonderful, moving rendition of Shivers, Rowland S Howard's ironic post-punk masterpiece written when he was just 16 and originally sung by Birthday Party bandmate Nick Cave. With Bennison emoting on the slide guitar and the percussive backing chorus of the frogs (Sandalford's in-house band), it was a moment to bottle.
Arnhem Land song-man Gurrumul Yunupingu appeared on this bill the week after performing for G20 leaders in Brisbane. Earlier this month he lost his father so it was an added weight of emotion hanging over his performance with his four-piece backing band led by Michael Hohnen on the double-bass.
Opening with Wiyathul, his transcendent hymn to country from his 2008 self-titled debut album, the blind musician, who plays the guitar upside down and sings almost entirely in his native Yolgnu language, was as subdued and serene as ever. In his rendition of Bapa, sung in tribute to his late father, his pure and unadorned voice rose into the night sky on the back of some glorious pedal steel slide work by Grammy Award winner Lucky Oceans.
The tempo was picked up nicely for a reggae style version of Wukun.
Gurrumul's musical mix of folk, country balladry, spiritual and traditional indigenous song-making felt right at home in the outdoor setting. At times, through the transformative strength of his voice, it was if we were all the faithful gathered at an open-air church of the latter-day musicians.
That was underscored when Finn made a surprise appearance during Gurrumul's set to join him on a sweet version of Dots on the Shells, which Finn had co-written and performed with Gurrumul's uncle and Yothu Yindi frontman, the late G. Yunupingu.
The concert was an opportunity for Gurrumal and Hohnen to try some new songs that may make their way onto a new gospel-flavoured album, drawing on traditional clan totems and the Methodist mission singing styles of his Elcho Island home. Waark (Crow) was an atmospheric electronic-tinged song that had echoes of the 90s band Not Drowning Waving, while Nhaku Limurr was a plea to people to "stop sitting around doing nothing".
He farewelled the appreciative audience with his signature tune, the ever-moving Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind).
Finn, when his full turn came, was in fine humour as well as fine voice as he alternated on the guitar and piano, joined on stage later by Oceans to help pick up the pace of the evening.
"I want to dedicate this song to the frogs who are in fine voice tonight," he said after opening with Distant Sun.
The Crowded House hits rolled out in a flow of soaring vocals and precision playing: Fall at Your feet, The World Where You Live, Message to My Girl, Something so Strong, Don't Dream It's Over - even a few bars of Split Enz' I See Red thanks to an oiled-up audience member's request.
Four Seasons in One Day was specially appreciated by an audience rugged up against the cold and the intermittent drizzle.
Among the classics were some special moments like his new song There and Back Again, written for the final Hobbit movie but failing to make the final cut in Peter Jackson's film, according to Finn. And Edible Flowers, co-written with brother Tim for their second Finn Brothers album in 2004, shone brightly on the night as did Recluse, from Neil's most recent album Dizzy Heights.
By the end of the show, many in the crowd had reached some dizzy heights of their own, dancing along to Finn and Oceans going for broke on Weather With You and the Spilt Enz classic I Got You.
The party mood would have compensated for the earlier sour note struck for some punters, who had paid for premium tickets to be close to the stage but found themselves wedged against the fence line. Staff on the night said the space allocation had been underestimated.
A bigger site on the other side of the lake had a sloping aspect and has been used for concerts previously.
