CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE.
Paul Dempsey has a voice that makes you forget where you are and that you’ve got a job to go to tomorrow. Venturing out with an acoustic guitar and pocket full of cheat sheets to help him remember songs still warm from his cerebral oven, Dempsey was honest in his advice that Wednesday night’s sold out gig at the Troubadour was a test bed for his new solo material and demonstrably humbled by the generous response from the crowd.
The Troubadour’s carpet was full. Much like children on school parade, the audience was cross legged, quiet and all facing the front. With almost no room for mid-set arrivals, it was clear all were mesmerised by Brisbane’s talent du year and befitting support, Tom Cooney. Instantly embraced by his exquisite folk guitar, heartfelt lyricism and soft, entrancing voice, it’s easy to see why this young man is heralded as one of those local talents who have success scriptively laid before them by many a music (and otherwise) publication. During the set, one guitar part struck as certainly familiar although obscure, so no points are lost from the sampling (whether intended or no) of The Delgados’ Make Your Move. With parallels to contemporaries such as Fionn Regan and Damien Rice in terms of songwriting and sentimentality, and subtle vocal traits of a subdued David Gray, the thunderous applause that ensued for the local lad will surely not be the last or the loudest he is going to receive.
Self-deprecating, relaxed and immediately engaging with the audience on a personal level, Paul Dempsey took to the stage shortly after, shuffling small papers from his pocket and tuning his guitar. With enough songs now written to put together another solo album, this performance was to see what his fans think, to unleash the “newbies” on some guinea pigs… or piglets, guinea gigpiglets, if you will. “Yeah, I’m packin’ cheat sheets to help me.” he said, smiling at the front rowers. Aware that we’re about to hear some very new, as yet unheard, songs from one of the foremost songwriters in this country, here’s betting that those scraps of spirax are greatly improved in value for having such words and chords scrawled upon them.
A mixture of new songs and Something for Kate favourites, the pared simplicity of one man, his guitar and his outstanding perfectly pitched voice was supremely satisfying. Each of the new tracks melded seemlessly into the set list, where if you weren’t already a SFK fan and didn’t know the songs, you really wouldn’t have known which were which. They were all Paul Dempsey songs, evidenced further by his own slip “ah, here’s something from my, oops, sorry OUR first record.” and all welcomed by the reverent crowd equally.
Post Kaplan/Thornhill and a new offering that resonated with Dempsey’s trademark rasping depth and amazing vocal heights, a naive question to the crowd soon put him to rights, “So, ah no rugby fans then?” referencing the State of Origin #3 match in full swing on many Brisbane televisions, but more closely heard from the pub across the mall. The room gurgled in opposition, “Oh yeah!”, “What’s the score?!” and even a “Queenslander” was heard from amongst the respondents. Settling the crowd again with a rendition of Paintbrushes that showcased the intricacies of detailed songwriting often lost to the noise of the electronic form, Whatever You Want also dripped in melancholy, though skeletal in its delivery, the emotion amplified by the treatment.
While it was great to hear a swathe of SFK tracks, Faster, The Astronaut, California, Say Something, stripped of all bar some reverb on the vocals, it was the new tracks that Dempsey introduced that had this reviewer trasfixed. Not all were introduced separately, but those that were were about irony, arguing with an evangelist about The Rapture, about butterfly wings, chameleons and impossible things. The lyrics hinted at themes of our common loneliness in a very crowded society while the tempos and scales invoked visions of gloomy Melbourne on a rainy day, watching traffic pass by your window as the tv grumbles along in the background. Everyone in the room was welcoming of these new gifts, and the joy in the giving was palpable. If the music was to be compared, some likeness to Angus and Julia Stone was evident on a least one, while another sounded very much like Bruce Springsteen... maybe because it was.
Now, there are people who would tell you that seeing The Boss live was one of their greatest live music moments, and that’s great for them, but I (digress into the first person) really don’t care anymore that I haven’t seen him, because I’ve experienced Paul Dempsey belting out a Springsteen classic, and his chosen theme song, released in the year we were born (1976), Born to Run. It was perfect. Even the whoahs were whoahtastic.
Bringing it back downunder, we were treated to a sing-a-long moment that had Dempsey so utterly rapt with the audience that he clapped towards us all at the end, effusive with praise for our part in Beautiful Sharks, “That sounded great, you guys can sing.” His smile wide and energy positively radiating. It seemed almost impossible for the man to be any happier. From around that time on, it became request hour. “So what do you want to hear?” The shouts for Captain would go unfulfilled, however Pinstripe, Stunt Show, You Only Hide and Hallways got up in the same way the Maroons did, winners each and every one.
NiteShok
said ages ago