It was the right night for it. A breeze. The air still, warm.

The crowd grew on the Melbourne Zoo lawn, picnics, family’s, first dates, groups of friends. All with the anticipation of the great C.W Stoneking. For those of you who have not experienced the Stoneking sound, he is a musician who draws influence from pre-war blues, jazz, folklore and jungle, which gives his song writing a twist.

The first band Dirt River Radio, were a mix of two guitarists and singers. Their combination of blues and acoustic rock was a good way to set the mood. They had just come from the Apollo Bay Music Festival, and after the gig were going to jump the bus and head back. These two musicians seemed extremely dedicated, at looking at them you could see they lived and breathed their music.

They said though that their set had to be quite controlled though, as it was a family night! The night was all in aid of the Earth Hour, for those of you who don’t know; it’s an hour where everyone is asked to turn their lights off to conserve energy.

The second act Mamie Minch, was a powerful female with a quirky country twang, she has been on tour with Stoneking for the past couple of months. She is from Brooklyn New York and her songs raise subjects about about the United States of America, the heartaches of a broken woman, and the ups and downs of any relationship. I particularly liked one of her songs, noted being about Frankie being done wrong by her cheating man, it was sung with such feeling.
After the set finished, the buzz began as we all waited for Mr Stoneking.

He came onto the stage dressed in white, with a red tie, looking very sharp. His band the primitive horn section were tight, and skilled musicians in their own right. They consisted of the double bass, drums and a horn section, Stoneking mentioned that they had only been together for a month, but their musical connection seemed much bigger than that. The band fitted the Zoo so well, a mix of blues, folk and jungle; he truly has such a unique sound! I felt like I was in a different era.

The drummer in particular played with such ease and feeling. Highlights of the night was in particular the third track which was off the Jungle Blues record, Jungle Lullaby, he said this was inspired after listening to his record on a ghetto blaster and thinking how smooth his voice sounded, so he thought he ought to write a lullaby. He did this track with just himself and the guitar, it was heartfelt and yes he was right his voice was extremely smooth with feeling. During this track I could hear the lions raw in the background, what a strange thing. The brilliance of having a gig at the zoo!!

The track Handyman Blues was also a soulful track, highlighting the feeling in his voice. The story was of a working class life, and you could hear in Stoneking’s voice just how big his story was. Joy House Blues was another brilliant track, written about being locked up in jail, it was a deep blues track. Kirsty Frazer, his wife of fives years joined him on stage for a track, it was good to see the chemistry between the couple, but her voice in regards to Stonekings is of no comparison, I think mainly because they have such different styles of singing.

Another, where Stoneking played his banjo was about the story of his friend from New Orleans, who was worried about getting married. So in this case he sent him to a fortune-teller, the story then goes on to tell of the man disappearing and finding a love for music. The way Stoneking told the story was incredible, I was listening to every word. What a brilliant storyteller. The track that was a product of the story was the great Dark Town Strutters Blues. I am not sure whether they were all true tales, but I wanted to believe him anyhow.

He even mentioned that a fortune-teller had told him that he was going to die in an eight-sided room, which brought the crowd into hysterics as he was performing in an angled gazebo. It was so great to see the crowd interact with Stoneking, we were all in the palm of his hand, some audience members were up dancing, and others were in silence listening to his stories through song. I left feeling like I had experienced an old treasure found in an old treasure box.

Stoneking truly is a jewel.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE