When there’s a line outside the Evelyn on a Wednesday night something fairly special must be going on. It’s fairly rare to see anyone who can draw a crowd like this to the Evelyn with its usual billing of bands only seen by the singer’s mates. This was a far different proposition – though most of the punters probably wouldn’t mind the opportunity to be considered friends of the band.
However it might be difficult to be stay mates with Liam Finn without a strong streak of envy getting in the way – he’s an absurdly talented bloke and with family connections like his, major success seems not only assured but practically a birthright. Oh, and he’s also one hell of a charismatic bastard as well.
Warming up the crowd Evelyn stage was the countrified folk rock of the Gin Club. From even a few tracks it’s clear the Club are in the illustrious company of the Kill Devil Hills and even the mighty Drones in serving up rousing rock, battered into its beautiful shape by a ragged, dusty outback and hard living. It’s music that seems to best make sense when accompanied by a gnarled beard, country checked shirt and cold beer. And tonight all three were in place.
Also sporting a fine example of beard work was the night’s headliner. It’s a beard that prompted American Rolling Stone to oddly claim that ‘Liam Finn = Elliot Smith – Despair + a Leprechaun’ when they tagged him as an ‘artist to watch’ for 2008. Playing a warm up show for an American tour pushing his solo debut I’ll Be Lightning, released in the States earlier this year, Finn show had the punters crammed in – with a few even turned away at the door.
While he played almost everything on the album himself, he was joined on stage by Eliza Jane, who shares in the live vocal and percussive duties. Finn opened his set with introductions, chanting their names over a repeating squall of guitar before turning his attention to the drum kit; few artists could turn such a simple intro into so convincing an entrance and set the stage for a great show.
His recent single To The Chapel suggested a completive singer songwriter performance may be the order of the evening. But that single didn’t even get an airing in what was a far more rowdy affair – hell; Finn even had a ‘beer tech’ for the night. He builds his tunes by looping and manipulating his guitar lines with an array of effects pedals, including a toy that looked like the discarded joystick of a forgotten Atari. But despite all the technology there was a ramshackle one-man-band feel to his performance.
Their banter between songs added to the rough improvised charm of the performance; a handy asset with the occasional failure of the electronics. Eliza filled time as they tinkered with an errant guitar pedal by proudly showing off her new boots, only for Finn to pinch one for an improvised drum solo, flailing away on the kit and thoroughly breaking in the shoe.
Even with the improvised flights of fancy and drum solos it was all done by the very civilised and Wednesday appropriate time of eleven. Finn claims he won’t be back til next year, but one thing’s for sure – it’ll take a venue far larger than the Evelyn and he’d be mad to play midweek.
