Liam Finn

On Tuesday night while many Sydneysiders were at home in their winter woolies, a large group of spectators descended upon Oxford Art Factory, a warehouse-cum-music venue to watch two great and disparate sets from The Gin Club and Liam Finn.

The Brisbane group is like Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated as the band is made up of a revolving door of musicians performing both live and on record. Their shows see the musicians constantly change instruments and their places on the tiny stage, allowing each member a slice of the limelight.

Their set at times resembled a group of friends singing Kumbaya at a camp, as their sweet, acoustic numbers soon won over the crowd. Many audience members watching seemed enthralled at times with the band, making it feel like we were all staring at the embers of a faux campfire.

The set began with some beatlesque harmonies in older track, Drug Flowers. They then entertained the crowd with some jokes – a welcome segue amongst numerous tracks – before performing a second number resembling The Eagles on the beach.

Song, Drunk With You saw Conor Macdonald approach the mic. His vulnerable and whispered vocals reminded me of Kurt Cobain’s ones in Something In The Way. The following track, Ten Paces Away was the antithesis by comparison, as it felt like a sixties trip.

Other songs included Down In The Valley, Long Long Time, You, Me and the Sea and Lies. The music seemed to encompass different genres including: folk, country, rock and pop. There was some slight overlap in the musical elements though, despite the changes in performers. This was particularly apparent in the slower songs where the main ingredients seemed to be a bunch of reverb from the bass, light drums and a minimal whisper of vocals and guitar. However, the crowd really enjoyed their set, as the interesting stage banter peppered the seemingly inoffensive rock that hinted at The Triffids and The Eagles.

But the night really belonged to Liam Finn. The one-man band/songwriter/machine has gone from playing to a handful of people at The Civic Hotel last year, to filling the venue tonight. Whether the spectators were actual fans, had stayed behind following the pervious act or had simply come to see if he lived up to the hype that people like David Letterman and Jools Holland have extended to him, they were certainly not disappointed.

Accompanied by EJ Barnes on vocals and percussion, it is amazing to consider that the sounds are simply coming from two people (and the bulk of this from Finn) as it sounds like a stadium rock band are on-stage. And when you watch Finn on the drums it is like witnessing a frenzied blur of brown because his hair and drum sticks flash in every direction making him look like Animal from The Muppets on amphetamines.

The set began with Better To Be and Finn added a Spanish guitar flourish and played some extended drums to the bemused onlookers who thought the song had finished. The subsequent track, Energy Spent contained a riff inspired by Led Zeppelin’s cover of Travelling Riverside Blues. Moreover, Remember When saw the diminutive pair bathed in stunning pink light.

I’ll Be Lightning featured EJ on Autoharp and Liam played a passionate and forceful ending on the drums where he twisted and swivelled on the seat like a child on an office chair.

This Place Is Killing Me was requested by a patron and was essentially distortion to the max. Finn also experimented extensively throughout the night, adding new aspects to his songs and creating new instrumental parts. One of these improvisations was a proper song in its own right and I’m sure the audience will agree that while this was a beautifully transient moment, it is a shame to think we may never hear this bit ever again, unless Finn decides to someday capture it on record.

Second Chance received rapturous applause and the crowd especially cheered Finn on as he approached the drum kit like a messianic figure drenched in golden light. Meanwhile, in the closer- Lead Balloon, Finn gave Pete Townshend a run for his money with his acrobatic showmanship, mid-song. An encore followed with slower track, Gather To The Chapel, but this did little to pacify the ecstatic audience who looked like they wanted more from Finn.

In all, the night was a highly entertaining show with a full venue brimming with an enraptured crowd who enjoyed the acoustic, communal sing-along by The Gin Club and the fun, frenzied layered rock of Finn, undeniably the world’s most rocking and uproarious one-man-band.

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