Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea

Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea ended their National Album Tour for ‘Dead Wood Falls’ at The Corner Hotel on Friday, June 23 with a big bang and much enthusiasm. The first support, Liz Stringer with her enormously powerful voice and her rip snortin’ drummer Adam May were received really well. Liz is bloody great and you really should go to her CD launch at the Northcote Social Club on Thursday June 29th!

The second support, The Vandas, seemed an unlikely choice and despite their wonderfully styled hair were somewhat tedious – the lack of musical connection with Jen Cloher and Liz Stringer made for an unnecessary boring patch in an otherwise great night.

As Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea set up, there was a swell of crowd approval – the new album is getting good airplay and the crowd were there to support them. As they begun to play, Jen observed that it was great to finally headline at The Corner and they certainly had the numbers to do so convincingly.

The first song ‘Spring’ set the feel for the entire set – they had a confidence I had not seen before. Jen’s vocals were assured and she utilised a variety of sound textures. Her obvious appreciation of the support of the audience was a feature of the night. I think the Endless Sea is the best damn band a girl could ask for and the tour has strengthened their incredible rapport. They have a visible connection as musicians and people and it makes them really great to watch – it is terribly rare to see musicians enjoy themselves on stage and these fellas have a ball together and for me that was the real highlight of the show.

The set was mostly drawn from the new album. My only criticism of the newer songs is that they seemed to follow a fairly predictable form – acoustic beginning building to a climactic crescendo. It worked for the crowd and I could see much dancing and singing along so who am I to really complain?

And that Band! The Endless Sea is possibly the best band i’ve seen in years. Michael Hubbard on guitar and backing vocals demonstrated yet again his extraordinary talent to support a lead vocalist and highlight the strengths of the songs without grandstanding – he is extremely talented and plays with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. Andrea Sumner on violin, backing vocals and percussion is a charismatic performer and bloody good fun to watch. Her enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment are a joy to see and the girl can wack the crap out of a tambourine! Lord Dunbar, a more reserved performer danced his ass off and was obviously having a great time. The drummer, Jen Sholakis, with Geoff provides the backbone of the sound. She was in turn thumpingly driving and thoughtfully subtle.

The Endless Sea really makes Jen Cloher’s songs special. That being said, her acoustic encores were really lovely – the best being “Red Room’ – an opportunity to appreciate the words of the song. Too many encores can spoil a show and the set just went on too long - Elvis always said, “Leave them wanting more”

A triumphant return to Melbourne and an indication of what’s to come – Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea are a great live act. Intelligent, thoughtful music is rare – Jen writes great songs and she has the ideal band to support her music.

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