Jim Ward @ Annandale Hotel,Sydney (09/12/08)

Thu 11th Dec, 2008 in Gig Reviews

It was a quiet night at the Annandale as the punters slowly made their way into the venue. There was no excited, loud vibe from the crowd, milling around the bar or nonchalantly reading throwaway rags with the words The Brag written on them. In a way, this perfectly suited the night’s atmosphere – a chilled, intimate night of interesting, original music at one of Australia’s best-known venues, headlined by At the Drive-In guitarist-cum- Sparta frontman-cum-acoustic troubadour Jim Ward.

Proceedings began with a charming Novocastrian quintet who went by the name of Like…Alaska. Whilst the band started shakily, both musically and sonically, they quickly found their legs and gave the slow-gathering crowd a selection of solid, passionate and shockingly original indie rock. One of the great things about the band was the fact that there were three vocalists, each singing lead on different songs and each with strength and clarity to their voices (a surprising feat for bands with multiple singers). With quality new acts in Australia increasingly becoming somewhat of a rarity, Like…Alaska are most definitely a band to watch out for.

Up next was a charming, talkative Floridian named Kevin Allen, who writes and performs under the moniker One Small Step for Landmines. His performance – simply vocals and a trusty six-string – was perfectly enjoyable on its own. It was his between-song banter, however, that really engaged and entertained the audience. Allen rambled about an ex-girlfriend, Lesley, the muse for quite a few of his songs, as well as touring with tonight’s main attraction (Ward) and the rowdy, drunk crowd at their Melbourne stop of the current tour. “I don’t really have a filter – a lot of the crap that I’m just thinking goes right out there to you guys,” he confessed midway through his half-hour set. Judging by the hearty laughter in response to his anecdotes, as well as large rounds of applause in response to his music, tonight’s crowd really didn’t seem to mind.

After another brief wait (and tracks from Violent Soho’s debut record being blasted through the P.A.), Jim Ward finally took to the stage, launching into a set of heartfelt, introspective and world-weary acoustic music that quite literally left the crowd stunned. Earlier, the crowd was chatty and more focused on keeping the barmen busy than the musicians on the Annandale stage. Not so now – the crowd watched in absolute silence as Ward swaggered around his mic stand, chopping away at his guitar in a much less aggressive fashion than the live environment of At the Drive-In or Sparta. Each track was simply beautiful to watch, his vocal delivery powerful and emphatic; in particular, when he moved away from the microphone to sing. It was truly a remarkable thing to witness, especially given the venue’s notorious rock – œn roll environment.

The set heavily borrowed from Ward’s two latest releases – his solo EP, aptly titled Quiet, and his Sleepercar record, West Texas. Whilst each track was met with positive appraisal at their end, it was the songs originally performed by Ward’s earlier band, Sparta, which received loud cheers as it was realised what they were. Perhaps the greatest crowd interaction came during Ward’s last song Air, a song originally found on Sparta’s Wiretap Scars. A multitude of the crowd sang the song along with Ward (including a photographer and members of Like…Alaska) as if the full band were up on stage performing at full volume. It was a wonderful culmination of the crowd’s appreciation and respect for Ward, and his requiting of these feelings for supporting his work.

“This is the sixth time I have been to this country playing music,” Ward announced near the end of the set, whilst visibly shaking. “And the reason I keep coming back is because of you. So thank you for sharing this with me.” Any time, Jim. Any time.