True Live @ The Spiegeltent,Adelaide (04/03/09)

Tue 10th Mar, 2009 in Gig Reviews

The Famous Spiegeltent has rolled into town for Fringe providing a spectacularly grand stage for the soulful energetic sounds of True Live. In front of a disappointing crowd of no more than 50, the band showcased their new album in a fantastic set.

Those who decided to stay away from a gig starting in daylight that went for just over an hour should be sorry they missed it. The $35 ticket price seemed hard to justify at first, but the intimate cabaret-style setting only enhanced what was already an amazing display of musical talent. The last time I witnessed the charismatic energy of the True Live crew was at the 2005/06 Falls Fest and I was anticipating a repeat performance.

True Live are commonly described as a hip hop group, but as someone who is not a dedicated follower of the genre it is the orchestral nature of their arrangement and ability to generate infectious grooves that wins me over and generates a greater array of fans than would normally be expected. Their diverse sounds even edge towards late night lounge, jazz, rock and pop with a dash of blues. The dynamic mix of electrified violin, cello, double bass, drums, keyboards and enigmatic front man *Ryan “RHyNO” Ritchie * creates a fusion of pure instrumental sounds, live beats and bass thumping rhythms that pushes the boundaries of the standard genre tags.

Adelaide was fortunate to get a glimpse of new tracks from their second album Found Lost In A Modern World, to be released very soon. Early in the set the crowd was grooving along by nodding their heads in their seats as requested by RHyNO so as not to disturb the cabaret setting.

They put hit single Bounce early on in the set, but this wasn’t warming up the small crowd. It was only halfway through the set that everyone was feeling more comfortable with the intimate setting. During their catchy new track Man Man, RHyNO’s smart suit jacket and cap were taken off as he morphed into a freestylin’ beat poet, Tim Blake on cello was up standing and Thai Matus ripped into a fantastic free-form keyboard solo to finish.

Their highly addictive musical gems Question This and Keep Myself Awake had the crowd nodding double time with a few people standing in the aisles. I particularly liked the new track Somewhere I Can Grow with its melodic string section and soulful vocals. The haunting cello solo that followed was a real treat. Another new song, Topic, had a fun live twist where RHyNO asked the crowd for random words which were then cleverly incorporated repeatedly into the lyrics, not bad for words like – œfinger nail’, – œmoustache’ and – œprestigious’.

Big single TV, from the first album, was left until the end which finally had the crowd up dancing ………well at least 10 people, which was pretty good for a gig this size. With only five minutes to go the last three songs were played with little space between them. Damn Right was the pick of them and has – œfestival anthem’ written all over it as shown by its ability to stick in my head for the rest of the night.

True Live certainly live up to their formidable live reputation. It’s a pity that this show fell within the first – œwarm-up’ week of the Fringe and in a venue, which although conducive to their musical style, must add considerably to the ticket price. Here’s hoping that True Live return to Adelaide soon following their upcoming tour to Japan, Europe and the States to allow a wider appreciation of their unique musical style and abundant talent.