Last night I sat ten metres in front of Mat McHugh, in his direct line of sight, while he sang just to me. Oh, and the hundred other lucky punters who carted their free drinks into Chapel off Chapel for a taping of Vodafone ’s glorious Live At The Chapel series.
Happily for all the straight chicks in the room, Mat is one of those performers for whom playing is like sex—we could see it in his face. It was kind of disconcerting to have (potentially imagined) eye-contact. I often had to look away to Bruce Braybrooke (drums) and Paulie B (bass) to avoid flat out staring—even during times when they too were idle, contentedly watching Mat get into it.
Maybe not fresh, but recently arrived, from Germany and a quick stop at Homebake, The Beautiful Girls filed into the Chapel where we were already seated on red leather couches with hundred of candles suspended in the air above us. Backlit by the gorgeous stain glass window that frames all the amazing acts invited to perform, they seemed a bit unnerved by the fact that the house lights didn’t go down; meaning they could see every one of our expectant faces. Mat may have even blushed when he asked how we were doing tonight, and no one responded. It’s usually a rhetoric question, and this time we realised too late that he was actually asking and could see us just fine. With cameras circling overhead and full lights glaring onto all of us, it was bordering on surreal and certainly a different experience of a band that I had rocked out to at the Forum years before. Recording four versions of our applause (‘one with less whistles this time’, ‘okay, now go mad’) prior to the bands arrival definitely set the tone there.
Mat, Bruce and Paulie seemed relaxed but we all shared the nervous electricity that comes with the realisation that we were being filmed, expertly, for a television audience. Consequently, we got a couple of extra tunes at the end – including a repeat of ‘Blackbird’ that was as brilliant as the first time, but dirtier and softer than I had ever heard it.
But I do get ahead of myself. The boys (or do we say ‘Girls’?) started off by launching into a couple of fat, Police-like tunes which, because I was so impressed, I forgot to note the titles of.
Simon Ferenci, Matt Keegan and Sam Boyd joined the trio to contribute trumpet, sax and keys (respectively) to my personal favourite, ‘I Thought About You’, and reappeared throughout the night to fill out an already loaded lineup. I imagined that Mat had to keep his eyes shut while singing so my stunned mullet expression didn’t make him forget the words (which he did anyway—sorry mate). With a beautifully full and polished sound, they progressed through a perfectly tight delivery that was both exceptionally mixed and, at times, sheepishly and humorously narrated by the band.A highlight came in the form of ‘La Mar’ (The Ocean) where Mat presented the first refrain with acoustic guitar and a pure voice, before Bruce and Paulie met him at the chorus with soft drums beats and two note bass picking. Another (‘Under A Southern Sky’) was earnestly introduced by a lead vocalist who was feeling fortunate to be Australian after spending so long overseas in recent times.
Yeah, we were all feeling fortunate to be Australian last night. It was an extraordinary experience to be a part of such an intimate performance, but I will be looking forward to catching them at the Corner this week so I can actual shake it, and do some munted-looking reggae dance kicks, as you always should when you see this stellar act perform.
A truly special, if not restrained, evening of well-behaved musos and fans, brought together by rich music and the happy coffers of the sponsors. Brilliant.
