The Zoo - Tue Jan 8

Tuesday night brings a much more relaxed crowd than my previous journey to The Zoo to see Girl Talk. So instead of day-glo fluoro fiascos, I’m accompanied by wine-quaffers and middle-agers for the opening set, courtesy of Canadian-born Joel Plaskett. His solo singer/songwriter set entrances the growing crowd, as his impressive warble and harmonica work draw obvious comparisons to that other gruff Canadian, Neil Young. Also, they gave me an actual press pass at the door…lanyard and everything *gushing*.

Ohad Rein, the brains behind Old Man River, has left his band in his other pants, leaving it up to some acoustic strumming, his charming voice and some rather predictable mood lighting to satisfy the crowd. The job is more or less complete by the time the Cuthbert & The Night Walkers Choir bounce onstage, but they’re more like icing than overkill. Sailing is particular set highlight, a much better tale of a 21st century Noah & The Ark story than Evan Almighty. Seriously, that was a steaming pile.

Another smooth transition is made as Australian mainstay Tim Freedman takes his place behind a keyboard, kicking off with the jazzy wit of You Sound Like Louis Burdett. Following this with The Whitlams melanchlassic (that’s a melancholic classic for those who haven’t started smooshing words together yet) No Aphrodisiac may seem like too much of a mood change for some, but it lets the crowd know this will be a night of classic Whitlams tunes. Once again, the Cuthbert Choir’s oohs, aahs and echoes compliment the music perfectly, adding girl power and eye candy for the female and male audience members respectively.

As the trio combine for the finale, we see the results of three men with varying backgrounds, reveling in their connections. Playing each other’s songs and laughing along the way, it would appear that this combined effort is even better than the sum total of their individual parts. Either way, I got a laminated representation of my media credentials… freakin’ awesome.

MITCH ALEXANDER

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