Jubilee Hotel - Fri June 3

Upstairs at the Jube attendance is still sparse and the lights are on when Ben Salter steps up for his opening slot. Bellowing out a clutch of solo and Gin Club numbers, the newly shorn songsmith hits the spot with a wicked rendition of the Velvets’ I'm Set Free.

Tonight, however, belongs to the inimitable Dave Graney and his accompanying super-combo The Lurid Yellow Mist. Clad in regulation leathers, Australia’s wittiest rock & roller opens with a mighty trio of signature cuts Rock & Roll Is Where I Hide (the title track of Dave’s most recent CD), Night Of The Wolverine and Feelin’ Kinda Sporty. Throughout the two-part set, DG, lifelong drummer/partner-in-crime Clare Moore, bassist Stu Thomas and lead guitarist Stu Perera keep outshining each other on their respective instruments. Rich on jazzy chords, the Latin-flavoured All Our Friends Were Stars and Are We Going Too Fast For Love? exude a fleeting, ephemeral quality largely absent from rock music. Dave's mordant humour abounds on the ever-snappy Three Dead Passengers and Sheriff Of Hell and all the seated punters get up on their feet for the mega-funky, Thommo-sung cover of Prince’s Sign O’ The Times and the concluding, defiant anti-anthems We Don’t Belong To Anybody and The Stars, Baby. A powerful display and a sweet ride indeed.

DENIS SEMCHENKO

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