Paul Kelly

I witnessed Paul Kelly & the Stormwater Boys in concert, to a packed room, at the Tasman Room in the Wrest Point Casino.
For 2 hours, Paul Kelly and his resplendid entourage of bluegrass gigolos sang songs of love, redemption, colonialism, hard knocks and the Australian way. Kelly in his concert with one encore fitted in over 20 songs of his optimal recognisable hits and favourites, as well as showcasing much new material, keeping his band of exemplary musicians well exercised, on the road with the June 2005 album ‘Foggy Highway’.
I love Paul Kelly because he keeps his audience so captivated, so sane. He doesn’t sing of jingoistic wank and patriotic drivel - someone like John Williamson - his lot is a far more noble one, to be certain, he has appeared in more local Australian movie soundtracks and played to more local Australian politicians than you can poke a stick at – but Paul Kelly stands as being less iconic and mainstreamed than other singer songwriters whom play in the anthem chords this side of the black stump.
Paul Kelly sings with a sense of history and nostalgia without descending into weepy sentimentality – there is a tail of cunning, cynicism and irony that lashes ones smarting face. The stories and the swearing in the songs is enough to testify to this fact. It was as if Paul Kelly’s mother used to read him Oz limericks to sleep as a baby, who causes to make repeat and punctuate his songs with such fantastic Oz rock sound bites, but at the same time being the product & expression of a unique personal consciousness.
Kelly appeared on stage at the right time and ably opened with his catalogue. The two big TV screens on either side of the stage made him look hazy and larger than life, some big erotic politician or radical poet singing tales of love and woe except on CNN. A quick synopsis of his onstage act revealed a mandolin player, a violin player, and a guy on a pedal steel guitar, a double bass and a banjo player. Needless to say, these guys could play – the banjo player played scales and dominate major chordal shifts and musical paradigms at a frenetic pace, he was mathematical in his implication and subtle in the application. Without a drummer the Stormwater Boys still managed to sound so danceable, the rthymn of the pace was enough to make people dance in the aisle without the custom necessity of a guy having to pound the backbeat with a big drumstick.
At various times during the concert, Paul Kelly sang alone – without any hints of nervousness or blemish – an accomplished virtuoso. Other songs were instrumentals – the band plays an excellent jig. To finish the evening, the band placed down their instruments and together on the stage they unified into choir – singing in perfect acapella and unison with resplendid harmony. It was entirely a surprise, which for me entirely capped the evening. My personal faves were the songs Be Careful What You Pray For which was an intelligent song and also the last instrument backed song of the evening which was his classic Dumb Things - a song which he sang in a varying and different kind of syncopation – maybe to change the feel of a song which must be his most known or requested – giving it a fervour and vitality which was so fresh, and so new.
Paul Kellys tour finished what has been a long and fulfilling 29 concert tour of the Country, with the Wrest Point show. Not by any means would the concert have lacked some of the intensity and fervency consistent with this show by any means with the album Foggy Highway is well and truly launched!

Share this review on Facebook