Paul Kelly @ The Quarry

Mon 10th Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Intending offense in no way at all, Paul Kelly belongs to the proud category of “dad’s music”. Forever featuring on the play-lists of long car trips and family barbecues, Paul Kelly is one of the corner stones of Australian Music. Considering his many achievements, its unsurprising then, that Kelly decided to divide 100 of his best known songs over four nights so as to leave no stone in his vast repertoire unturned for his fans.

To assist the audience in choosing which night to come, Kelly’s set list was ordered alphabetically and considering the tickets were a cool $70 per night, you’d want to pick the right show. The fourth evening’s S-Z set epitomised why Paul Kelly is one of Australia’s most celebrated singer songwriters. If nothing else, Kelly’s almost flawless memory for his obscure back catalogue shows him as a true musical heavyweight. Plus, considering the number of memorable songs from just one evening of the series, one can get an idea of the scope of the man’s diverse musical achievements.

If you don’t count a set of highly impressive sideburns of one of the security staff, Kelly had no support act to speak of. Along with some chilling winds blowing through the outdoor amphitheater, the abundance of soft-cheese-munching-yuppies with their tartan rugs and low chairs made for a somewhat cold atmosphere. However, once Kelly had stepped onto the stage, with a characteristic lack of hype, it didn’t take long for the audience to warm to his charm.

Dressed entirely in black, Kelly stood behind a large “S” placard marking out the evenings starting point. Almost effortlessly, he began by bursting through favourites old and new including Stolen Apples, Sweet Guy and Songs from the Sixteenth Floor; his trademark voice resonating well around the limestone walls of the quarry. Backed only by nephew and laureate-in-his-own-right Dan Kelly, Kelly senior seemed relaxed, sticking with his acoustic guitar.

While the crowd were undeniably there to see Paul Kelly, Dan Kelly proved a pleasant surprise. The intricacy of his guitar parts is in the same calibre as guitarists like You Am I’s Davey Lane or The Living End’s Chris Cheney and his moody reverberated picking in songs such as They Thought I Was Asleep fitted perfectly to the nostalgic haunt of Kelly’s lyrics. All the while, he packed enough punch and guts to make the lack of backing band nearly unnoticeable. Undoubtedly the highlight of Dan Kelly’s performance was his rendition of Fire and Theft (The Landscapers Dream) from his own band, Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males that hilariously centers around a fraud attempt gone horribly wrong. Appropriately this came under the letter “X”, Dan Kelly being the evening’s “X factor”.

As a small army of millipedes began to invade the audience’s antipasto plate, Kelly began on the letter “T”. This produced the high point of the evening with one of the most classic tunes in Kelly’s songbook, To Her Door -complete with Dan Kelly emulating the song’s memorable guitar solo perfectly. After a few water crackers, a wine and the letter “U” later, Kelly unfolded the interval placard, marking a break.

As everyone shuffled back to their cooler bags, the show resumed with a blazing cover of Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas complete with some help from our hairy-cheeked security friend. He followed with the second best known song of the evening; When I First met Your Ma. The crowd’s applause had not long faded as Kelly launched into the hauntingly beautiful Winter Coat. It’s bittersweet chorus and child-like lyrics illustrated the talent that once saw him labeled “Australia’s Dylan”.

With every letter came more and more gold, including some songs originally written for other artists. These included You Broke a Beautiful Thing written for Australian diva Renee Geyer and You’re 39, You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine which recently appeared on the latest Tex, Don and Charlie album. The high quality of the songs Kelly willingly gives to other artists not only is tribute to the standard of his writing but also the undeniable avuncular position that he has in the Australian music industry.

For the closing song, Zoe Kelly employed the haunting voice of a female soprano concluding a great night celebrating the endurance of his work. Apart from some awkwardly positioned lighting that blinded the front wings of the audience, Paul Kelly at the Quarry was a faultless show. As the final Z was taken down from the monitor, the crowd voiced shared request in unison: “Start from A again!”.