Johnny Flynn

With such an array of extravagance in town right now (thanks to the touring cohort of Splendour in the Grass acts), it’s nice to know that the simpler musical things still count for some. With literally no more than his guitar and vocal chords, English singer/songwriter Johnny Flynn took to the Northcote Social Club on Tuesday night for his first ever (and only) headline show on our shores.

Setting the mood for the evening was Grizzly Jim Lawrie - that mood being “lounge room”. Grizzly Jim is one of Melbourne’s best kept secrets, and when he’s not behind the skins of Eagle and the Worm, he’s pouring his heart out, armed with an acoustic guitar. Charming vocals and lyricism alike, Grizzly Jim pleased the seated few that had shown up early, highlighting his short set with some shanty-like folk in his final track.

The stage setup didn’t change at all in anticipation of Flynn – that is, there remained no more than a microphone and guitar stand on stage for the entire night. The Englishman appeared dead on time and all on his lonesome, opening with ‘Tunnels’ and immediately pleasing the polite, cross legged audience (pleasure evident from the fact they didn’t make a whisper).

If you haven’t heard Flynn’s latest release, Been Listening, then it’s worth grabbing; the guy’s nu-folk song writing is boosted by his full band – the band that was nowhere in sight for the night’s performance. Initially, this seemed like a bit of a disappointment, but Flynn’s unique vocal talent easily made up for it. He has the kind of voice that’s beyond his age; Paolo Nutini or Laura Marling come to mind. In fact, it’s not hard to see my Flynn’s playing at Marling’s shows, as he’s somewhat her male equivalent.

For the set, simplicity was the key, but this was a matter of quality over quantity (of accompaniment). Impressive guitar work was littered throughout many tracks; ‘The Wrote and the Writ’ coming to mind as a stand out. There were plenty of differences too, with Flynn backing up the more up-tempo ‘The Box’ with a juxtaposition of the very subtle ‘Been Listening’. ‘Sweet William’ was another set favourite, demonstrating more than any other Flynn’s classic folk sensibilities.

Between tracks, Flynn seemed a little awkward in the very intimate setting, opting not to share too many stories about his songs as one might have expected. Amongst the tuning there was little chatter at all really, except for his odd interactions with some girls down the front who wanted to know where Marling was on the usual duet, ‘The Water’, and who again made requests only to be strangely shot down by the one man show.

Flynn might well return to Australia with his full band in the future, which would be well worth keeping and eye and ear out for. But for now, solo work just short of an hour was as much as his small fan base was going to get. His voice certainly stands up live, though, and was easily enough to make such a simple show rather memorable.

Share this review on Facebook