Ed Kuepper & the Kowalski Collective

As The Basement slowly fills out with mature and probably Ed Kuepper-savvy crowd members somewhat dragging their collective heels through the working week, you can almost feel the capped level of Thursday enthusiasm. Welcome back Kuepper, or something to that effect, as he tours with first album in six years Jean Lee and the Yellow Dog.

Originally touted as an operatic type of soundtrack to the story of Jean Lee the last woman hanged in Australia, it’s not exactly ‘Happy Days the Musical’ we’re in for. With said new album’s songs to unfurl in the second set; the first is a wandering backstroke through Ed’s back catalogue.

Despite the minimal room size Kuepper goes in pretty hard, fast and loud on guitar, a fuzzy wave of distortion blanketing much of his trademark vocals. Subsidiary decibels leap from drums of Jeffrey Wegener with oft played speed and precision whilst Peter Oxley performs bass duties with intense aplomb. It’s a bit like witnessing blokes whom are all very good and experienced head back into garage land with their amps up full bore attempting to a) trump each other for sound and b) make it all stick. It’s great when it works but grates when it doesn’t.

Extra twist is a suit-clad male 3-piece horn section off to one side and the slight albeit welcome gender balance of cellist / keyboardist Jane Elliott on the other. Their addition worked best when a song demanded restraint such as ‘Best Interests at Heart’. After a typically eclectic forty-five minute Kuepper set and big feedback outro Ed and the band assure us they’ll be back real soon.

Half an hour later The Collective returns. Ed asks if we’re having a good time and I swear there’s a pause before some girls offer cheers from down front. “Oh” says Kuepper, “then I just lost $350… I made a bet backstage that you weren’t” to which the audience chuckles and I wonder… why exactly $350?

A creeping intro from the band, until sudden wall of sound ‘Hang Jean Lee’ smacks us about the ears. It’s not that we’re not having a good time; it’s just that we can barely hear you sing. Second song ‘Miracles Are An Illusion’ blooms into a nice highlight due to its cohesive rhythm and drive. Third tune displays almost Sonic Youth-like indie rock eccentricity and the fourth a jazz-punk fusion of horns, drums and guitars. Next comes the sombre gallows-like drawl of ‘Skinny Jean’ and rusty jam ‘The Yellow Dog’, but by this time I’m wondering if I can get home for ‘Live At The Basement’ on TV.

I’ll be interested to hear this new album to see how it all ties together on record and maybe then could appreciate it more live but in hindsight, the two split sets which seemed like a really good idea at the time ended up a bit thick. I still have the same admiration for Kuepper and pals and this gig wasn’t terrible by any means, just not one of his more memorable.

~ Matt James

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