Photo: Justin Edwards

The Globe’s iconic glitter ball is spinning away, however it’s a quiet night and there’s initially only a few of us watching the former Shutterspeed frontman Andrew Petersen. A natural in solo mode, the propulsive acoustic strum and thoughtful lyrics of It Gets That Way make for a perfect opener before the local songsmith recites a bunch of reflective numbers, out of which the John Lennon-esque Bleeding Heart, an upbeat Somewhere Out There and quizzical The Universe And Its Sense Of Humour shine the most. Switching to a Telecaster for several tracks, Andrew closes with a chugging rocker – a nice touch of grit doesn’t hurt.

The more I listen to Texas Tea, the more I love them; using a tambourine and a bass drum for foot-stompin’, the multitasking duo of Kate Jacobson and Benjamin P. Dougherty treat us to some of Brisbane’s finest alt-country music. Opening with a longing, lap steel-accompanied Kiss Me Gently, they quickly get into full acoustic, electric and dobro-twanging swing, Kate’s spellbinding voice and Ben’s deep tones shining both solo and in unison. Tonight’s set drawing from both Take A Sip and The Junkship Recordings albums, Don’t Believe In Jesus, Whiskey And Wine and Macy & Me prove to be authentic growers.

Having recently adapted a young Van Morrison look, sharp-suited headliner Andrew Morris showcases his new blue-eyed soul direction by taking us through the just-released Needs & Wants album (which gets launched tonight). With a Wrecking Crew-styled trio of drummer Roger Bergodaz, bassist Pat Bourke and keyboardist Steve Hesketh behind him, along with the horn section and three backing vocalists, the Brisbane soul man preaches and testifies in true Stax fashion. Effervescent single Lover is debuted early while Alone Without You sees the mainly instrument-free Andrew play some gently weeping slide guitar. Additional highlights A Lonely Goodbye, Nothing Lasts Forever, Bone Dry and Lady Venus feature stirring gospel choir swells, scorching organ runs and dense rhythm work, rounding off a convincing triple serve of local talent.

DENIS SEMCHENKO

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