Ben Kweller @ Hyde Park Hotel,Perth (19/10/2007)

Sat 20th Oct, 2007 in Gig Reviews

It’s amazing how the final stages of a gig can make everything else that happened on the night irrelevant.

Such was the case with Ben Kweller at the first of three WA dates of his Gotta Move Australian tour. With just minutes to go, there was no way he could lose it. Aside from the red wine-swilling 40-somethings, the crowd sang along with just about every word that came from the baby-faced 26-year-old’s mouth. At the business end of the set Sundress, from last year’s self-titled LP and 2004’s My Apartment had the crowd buzzing as the BK trio approached the final straight.

Kweller, on his fourth visit to our shores, has started well. “Show me all the rules, Perth,” he sang on rousing set opener The Rules (though tragically lacking in the xylophone department), and kept the mood and tempo up as he moved into song number two, I Gotta Move. The middle part of the set was nothing short of superb, with his bandmates as tight as ever, giving their frontman the freedom to switch from acoustic to electric, before moving to the piano for In Other Words.

And things only got better. Paying tribute to Perth and its music scene, the Texan thanked support act New Rules for Boats and recounted tales of his last visit to Perth, in autumn for West Coast Blues and Roots. “Perth, I need you back!” he quipped, before flinging himself headfirst into the opening track from 2004’s On My Way. The highlight of the night, though, came with the title track to that record. Stepping away from the mic for the bulk of the song, Kweller let the crowd take the role of lead vocals. Sadly, those 40-somethings seemed more interested in discussing the lovely cab sauv they’d got their hands on. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the crowd had no trouble remembering the words and singing along in full voice. “Aw, mom, I always dreamt of being a good listener,” they sang; if only those at the bar shared the same aspirations.

So where did it all go wrong? Well. With the crowd eating out of his hand, the final moments should have been a spirited rush to the finish line. Disappointingly, the trio overlooked countless fan favourites to cap their set off with Red Eye, probably the most lifeless cut from Ben Kweller. And to add insult to injury, the song descended into bluesy wank and continued for a good five minutes after it should have wrapped up. Not to worry though, it’s Ben Kweller! Right? He’ll come back for an encore and do Wasted and Ready, Down, Falling and This is War. Wrong. As they returned to the stage one last time, Penny On the Train Track picked up right where Sundress and My Apartment had left off, inspiring the punters to raise their collective voice and return the smiles thrown their way by the man at the front of the stage. But within seconds of the song finishing up the trio had left the building. Referring back to Penny On the Train Track, Kweller might want to ponder that something good/something great lyric. We’re still waiting.