Even - Saturday, 4th September 2010 - Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne
As everyone probably knows, I'm a huge fan of Melbourne rock/power-pop trio Even, and try to attend most of their shows in Melbourne. But much to my disappointment (whinge, whinge, whinge), I missed the two shows previous to this event: the first, due to commitments elsewhere, was supporting The Mess Hall at the Espy. The second gig, was the band's second ever Jukebox show, and I couldn't make it because I was quite ill. It's a shame I missed that show: Jukebox shows are dedicated to mostly covers, and the first one was a heap of fun! Given my recent track record, I was quite keen to attend the "Triple Treat" show at the Thornbury Theatre.
That, and the show had quite a line-up: Even headlining, with Ross McLennan and the New World Sympathetique (awesome band name!) and The Ronson Hangup also on the bill. There was a fair bit of band member-sharing: Ash Naylor, Even's frontman is/was a guitarist in The Ronson Hangup, the main band of brothers Mal and Steve Pinkerton. Steve Pinkerton is the drummer in the New World Sympathetique, while Mal has played cello on stage with Even on occasion. And Steve has contributed flute to the Even song Shining Star. Confused yet?
Unfortunately, since I was late, (no surprises there *sigh*) I just missed the Ronson Hangup. I really did want to see them since their debut album has some really nice retro-pop songs, and I've been meaning to see them live for a while now. Oh well. In case you were wondering how they were: the fellow on the door thought they were good and sounded "Beatles-y". Sounds about right. As I wandered around the room, I noticed some of the usual Even fans (Jo Ginn, of course), as well as Ron Peno (of Died Pretty) and Scod from Tripod. Curious.
I have Ross McLennan's most recent solo album, Sympathy for the New World. It's quite an interesting listen: it's dense, heavily orchestrated, wordy and has very few choruses. It's an album that I like, but not entirely sure I "get". Probably needs to be listened to a good many times before it really sinks in. But live... with strings, horns and what not, it's really mindblowing stuff. Ross' set started with him fronting a regular five piece band (Ross on vocals and guitar, plus an extra guitarist, a bassist, a keyboardist and the aforementioned Steve Pinkerton playing drums), and they played a handful of songs that I wasn't familiar with. As the set progressed, more musicians, including Mal Pinkerton on cello, joined them onstage and filled out the sound with strings, brass and flutes. With the expanded band, they then played several songs from Sympathy for the New World: Christian Love Made a Monkey Out of Me, Mealy Mouth and a version of Pete Best that segued into Famous Lonely Deaths all turned up in the setlist. Ross and his rather large band also played a short new song called Travel Arrangements, a brief unknown cover, an awesome song called Symphobia, which was from his first solo album, and the whole thing finished with the phenomenal I'm Heavy as I've Ever Been. Oh, and Steve Pinkerton spent a good deal of the set smiling away and hamming it up.
Honestly, seeing it live with a massive backing band which included over ten people on stage, was a real impressive experience. It really does sound amazing and cinematic, and it also considerably improved my opinion of Sympathy for the New World. And after hearing Symphobia, I'm now also looking for a copy of Songs from the Brittle Building, the album before Sympathy. Finally, it was pretty awesome that it finished with I'm Heavy as I've Ever Been, a real monster of a song that ended in cacophony... I would've been disappointed if they hadn't played it!
I would have liked to have recorded some of Ross' set on my camera, but unfortunately the battery was almost flat, and I couldn't find the spare camera battery that I'd brought with me. So after Ross' set, I trekked back to the car, convinced that I'd left the battery there. After much digging around and being unable to find the battery, I tried looking in my pockets again... and there it was! Heh. After all that, I actually recorded a good deal of Even's set: nine (!!) songs in total. One day I'll achieve my goal of recording an entire Even set; most likely it'll be a support slot or something.
Because of the company and the special nature of the gig, there were plenty of guests joining Even onstage. Mal Pinkerton played cello on several songs, while Steve Pinkerton played flute on the aforementioned Shining Star. Ross McLennan fronted the band on a cover of The Yardbirds For Your Love (which Even and Ross released a single of, back in the day), and a trumpet player from Ross' band whose nickname was "Rags", joined the band on... yes, Rags. And of course, Bruce Haymes, who is a regular guest at special gigs, played keyboards for a good deal of the set.
The show's setlist was:
Set:
But for me, the biggest highlight was something else. Before playing the song in question, Ash announced that they'd recorded the song, but never actually performed it live. Once the song started, I made the assumption it was an old b-side I hadn't heard before... until the chorus, when it dawned on me that the song was the title track of their upcoming album, In Another Time! Whoah, cool! It was a really lovely ballad with Mal Pinkerton on cello and a very pretty melody that I can still recall, despite having only heard the song one and a bit times (I recorded it as well!). It makes me wonder what the next album is going to be like: of the four songs I've heard live, two are ballads (Back to Life, In Another Time) and the third is a psychedelic Beatles-y piano-pop song (Temperamental Flower). (The fourth, Beverley Drive, is a speedy rocker with a slow, psychedelic mid-section).
After the show, I managed to swipe my first ever Even setlist, and discovered there were a couple of songs towards the end of the show that weren't played. The set was supposed to finish with Beautiful Day Never End (Oooh!) and a possibly solo Ash version of Temperamental Flower, while the encore also included usual suspects Life Gets in the Way and Don't Wait. Would've been nice to hear all of those songs as well!
As you can tell, I had a fantastic night, and really enjoyed what I did see (shame about missing the Ronson Hangup). I'd love to see Ross McLennan again with a full backing band, as it was quite an eye-opener, and as usual, I'm looking forward to the next Even gig, and their upcoming album, whenever either happens. Preferably sooner rather than later. Of course.
Oh, and in other news, Even's 2001 album, A Different High is apparently being re-released on vinyl. Neat. But what about Free Kicks?
That, and the show had quite a line-up: Even headlining, with Ross McLennan and the New World Sympathetique (awesome band name!) and The Ronson Hangup also on the bill. There was a fair bit of band member-sharing: Ash Naylor, Even's frontman is/was a guitarist in The Ronson Hangup, the main band of brothers Mal and Steve Pinkerton. Steve Pinkerton is the drummer in the New World Sympathetique, while Mal has played cello on stage with Even on occasion. And Steve has contributed flute to the Even song Shining Star. Confused yet?
Unfortunately, since I was late, (no surprises there *sigh*) I just missed the Ronson Hangup. I really did want to see them since their debut album has some really nice retro-pop songs, and I've been meaning to see them live for a while now. Oh well. In case you were wondering how they were: the fellow on the door thought they were good and sounded "Beatles-y". Sounds about right. As I wandered around the room, I noticed some of the usual Even fans (Jo Ginn, of course), as well as Ron Peno (of Died Pretty) and Scod from Tripod. Curious.
I have Ross McLennan's most recent solo album, Sympathy for the New World. It's quite an interesting listen: it's dense, heavily orchestrated, wordy and has very few choruses. It's an album that I like, but not entirely sure I "get". Probably needs to be listened to a good many times before it really sinks in. But live... with strings, horns and what not, it's really mindblowing stuff. Ross' set started with him fronting a regular five piece band (Ross on vocals and guitar, plus an extra guitarist, a bassist, a keyboardist and the aforementioned Steve Pinkerton playing drums), and they played a handful of songs that I wasn't familiar with. As the set progressed, more musicians, including Mal Pinkerton on cello, joined them onstage and filled out the sound with strings, brass and flutes. With the expanded band, they then played several songs from Sympathy for the New World: Christian Love Made a Monkey Out of Me, Mealy Mouth and a version of Pete Best that segued into Famous Lonely Deaths all turned up in the setlist. Ross and his rather large band also played a short new song called Travel Arrangements, a brief unknown cover, an awesome song called Symphobia, which was from his first solo album, and the whole thing finished with the phenomenal I'm Heavy as I've Ever Been. Oh, and Steve Pinkerton spent a good deal of the set smiling away and hamming it up.
Honestly, seeing it live with a massive backing band which included over ten people on stage, was a real impressive experience. It really does sound amazing and cinematic, and it also considerably improved my opinion of Sympathy for the New World. And after hearing Symphobia, I'm now also looking for a copy of Songs from the Brittle Building, the album before Sympathy. Finally, it was pretty awesome that it finished with I'm Heavy as I've Ever Been, a real monster of a song that ended in cacophony... I would've been disappointed if they hadn't played it!
I would have liked to have recorded some of Ross' set on my camera, but unfortunately the battery was almost flat, and I couldn't find the spare camera battery that I'd brought with me. So after Ross' set, I trekked back to the car, convinced that I'd left the battery there. After much digging around and being unable to find the battery, I tried looking in my pockets again... and there it was! Heh. After all that, I actually recorded a good deal of Even's set: nine (!!) songs in total. One day I'll achieve my goal of recording an entire Even set; most likely it'll be a support slot or something.
Because of the company and the special nature of the gig, there were plenty of guests joining Even onstage. Mal Pinkerton played cello on several songs, while Steve Pinkerton played flute on the aforementioned Shining Star. Ross McLennan fronted the band on a cover of The Yardbirds For Your Love (which Even and Ross released a single of, back in the day), and a trumpet player from Ross' band whose nickname was "Rags", joined the band on... yes, Rags. And of course, Bruce Haymes, who is a regular guest at special gigs, played keyboards for a good deal of the set.
The show's setlist was:
Set:
- Time to See
- Black Umbrella
- Shining Star (/w Mal and Steve Pinkerton) (Video)
- Back to Life
- The Beat Parade (Video)
- Dona Maria's Farm
- For Your Love (/w Ross McLennan) (Video)
- Stop and Go Man
- Better Road (/w Bruce Haymes) (Video)
- Rags (/w Bruce Haymes and "Rags")
- If There's No You (/w Bruce Haymes) (Video)
- In Another Time (/w Bruce Haymes and Mal Pinkerton) (Video)
- The Fool Who Made You Sad (/w Bruce Haymes)
- Bowie in My Dreams (/w Bruce Haymes) (Video)
But for me, the biggest highlight was something else. Before playing the song in question, Ash announced that they'd recorded the song, but never actually performed it live. Once the song started, I made the assumption it was an old b-side I hadn't heard before... until the chorus, when it dawned on me that the song was the title track of their upcoming album, In Another Time! Whoah, cool! It was a really lovely ballad with Mal Pinkerton on cello and a very pretty melody that I can still recall, despite having only heard the song one and a bit times (I recorded it as well!). It makes me wonder what the next album is going to be like: of the four songs I've heard live, two are ballads (Back to Life, In Another Time) and the third is a psychedelic Beatles-y piano-pop song (Temperamental Flower). (The fourth, Beverley Drive, is a speedy rocker with a slow, psychedelic mid-section).
After the show, I managed to swipe my first ever Even setlist, and discovered there were a couple of songs towards the end of the show that weren't played. The set was supposed to finish with Beautiful Day Never End (Oooh!) and a possibly solo Ash version of Temperamental Flower, while the encore also included usual suspects Life Gets in the Way and Don't Wait. Would've been nice to hear all of those songs as well!
As you can tell, I had a fantastic night, and really enjoyed what I did see (shame about missing the Ronson Hangup). I'd love to see Ross McLennan again with a full backing band, as it was quite an eye-opener, and as usual, I'm looking forward to the next Even gig, and their upcoming album, whenever either happens. Preferably sooner rather than later. Of course.
Oh, and in other news, Even's 2001 album, A Different High is apparently being re-released on vinyl. Neat. But what about Free Kicks?