Eskimo Joe

Despite a sold-out sign out the front and the long line of punters snaking their way up Devonshire Street, Saturday’s show started off in a rather low-key way. Perth songstress Felicity Groom was on first and accompanied by guitarist, Andrew Ryan (Adam Said Galore). The pair played electric and acoustic guitar with Groom swapping the latter for an autoharp later in the set.

Groom performs haunting folk music that is quite dark and broody. It’s the kind of thing you’d imagine you’d get if you crossed Nick Cave with PJ Harvey (and we’re not talking about when they did the duet, “Henry Lee”). Groom performed “Treasures” and while there’s no denying that this lady has got talent, tonight it felt like we were looking at a jigsaw with a few pieces missing. She had a rather large group of punters to entertain but her delivery occasionally came across like a monotone and people were chattering through most of her set.

The proceedings however, did pick up during her finale, “Finders & Keepers” where she was joined by two-thirds of Eskimo Joe, Kav Temperley and Joel Quartermain on bass and drums, respectively. They all did an excellent job – the latter two especially – as they had learnt the song in an hour and Quartermain really appeared to enjoy himself behind the kit, as it’s something he hasn’t done live with the Eskies for some time.

Adelaide native Myles Mayo was up next and was joined by his mate, Sonny Taverna. This twosome were equipped with electric and acoustic guitars in much the same way as the first act but whereas the former played the black card in spades, these guys were all about coasting, Eagles-style, along the American highway with occasional nods towards the coastline.

The first number could have been by Chris Isaak while the following, “How You Done Me Wrong”, boasted nice harmonies reminiscent of Georgia Fair and was the kind of sweet singer/songwriter-type folk for which this country is proud (think Paul Kelly, Josh Pyke, Bob Evans, et al). “Ice Cream Truck” was a self-described country song with yeehaws caterwauling about the sky with hints of Johnny Cash and his missus.

“What, The Cat Got Your Tongue” preceded a road trip song influenced by a journey along the East Coast at twenty-one, “I Slept The Winter Underground”. There was a new track with some melodica à la New Order’s “Love Vigilantes” before “Leave The Party (Part 2)” brought the set to a close with something that sounded like it was lifted straight from a Pixies songbook.

After the audience endured some stifling heat (particularly upstairs) and a faffing roadie it was finally time for Eskimo Joe. The guys came on-stage rather anti-climatically part way through Sinatra’s “New York, New York” to play their own song with a similar name. Kav started things off solely on an acoustic guitar before his band mates joined in, a template for much of tonight’s performance.

Temperley said that the evening was to be a special one for us – their mega fans – as they would play old and new songs in a different way and we’d share, “A moment with each other”. They would also give us a gift (a vinyl record that proved a nice touch) and sweetened us with old favourites, “Older Than You” and “Seven Veils”. The latter was realised as a beautiful, stripped-back version, one that wasn’t too rocky or too unplugged.

New single, “When We Were Kids” boasted nostalgia-tinged lyrics and sounds like it will slot right into the Eskimo Joe catalogue with ease. Similarly, new song “Echoes” had the same kind of sinister cool that typified the material on their hit record Black Fingernails, Red Wine. “Childhood Behaviour” got people clapping and then the band said they were taking requests. It was something they’d also done in the lead-up to the tour where votes were collated and even graphed by a member of their staff. Somebody yelled out for some INXS songs and I can’t confirm whether this was a dig at the guys’ comparatively new change in sound or a legitimate demand.

Guitarist Stu MacLeod said he wanted to perform some Rick Astley which resulted in funny banter and stage moves inspired by the eighties one hit wonder. Unsurprisingly, people also yelled out for the Eskie’s big hit, “Sweater” and for the thousandth time they were denied such a request. They had to make do with another S-song, “Sarah,” and being such a good sing-along meant it was hardly a stretch for all involved.

One criticism of the night I must make is the lack of old material. The guys only played a Claptonesque “Liar” and “Planet Earth” from “Girl” and if you’ve seen these guys more than once you’d know that they are already set staples. Obviously, the music had to fit the acoustic sphere but I couldn’t help but be a tad disappointed by some of the glaring omissions from albums one and two. Then again, I’m an old-school Eskimo Joe fan through and through and those that jumped onto the group’s bandwagon at album three or later would probably disagree with me on this.

Next there was an ethereal version of “London Bombs” and a serious rendition of “Don’t Let It Fly”. “Falling For You” saw the lights turned down low with the number beginning as soft as a whisper and ending like a rock roar. For “Don’t Let Me Down” the boys wanted to sound like Gloria Estefan’s backing band, Miami Sound Machine and the hit single got everybody clapping. The previous night Temperley had forgotten the lyrics and had to rely on a kind of iPhone autocue but tonight he was on the money.

In “Foreign Land” we were almost spared the dividing bells and whistles of the original except that one wag upstairs tried to improvise the odd sounds – and very badly I might add. “Black Fingernails, Red Wine” had a big, rocking finish and served as a good finale before the short encore of new song “Love Is A Drug” and an extended “From The Sea,” complete with audience participation aplenty.

In short, The Gaelic Hotel had hosted a return-to-roots for Eskimo Joe. Sure, the guys are a little older, these days and are singing about when they were kids rather than acting like big ones but they were in fine form at this gig, playing beautifully reconstructed new and old tracks and cracking the odd joke. It was a little more adult than before – dare I say even adult contemporary – but it seemed a fitting start to the next chapter for The Eskies.

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