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The Keepsakes

Our opening act I only ever see once a year. It’s always about this time of year and it’s always on a Sunday. It’s not like I actually plan it this way (and they do actually play other gigs at other times throughout the year) but there’s always something rather poetic about it all the same. Just when shit gets too hairy out there (or even just before that) they’re there when you need them the most. Some might consider it a coincidence, but not me; I’m well aware of Zac Coligan’s serendipitous psychic abilities. He likes to make a game of it everytime I’m at the Jade Monkey. Before I even know I want a beer he’s ready for me: presenting a bottle from below the bar still frosty from the fridge I never saw him reach for. It trips me out everytime and it shows in the music too. The Sea Thieves are a happy accident through and through. It doesn’t matter that his better half Naomi isn’t here tonight, it still comes together as if by chance. You can hear it on the album they released last year “Hiding In The Shade”. Recorded in the Jade Monkey no less, it’s riddled with amusing quirks: a whistling breeze, a creak of the floorboard, a passing bus, even an entire track “Helicopter In The Afternoon” devoted to pretty much what the title suggests. It adds a homespun charm, that makes it more of a conversation than a concert recital to experience live. In closest equivalent think Beck’s “Sea Change” mixed in with a little bit of Tom Waits; think of the warm crackle of a fire on a winter’s night. Their whimsical selection of instruments only add to the effect: with found objects ranging from singing saws, toy pianos to ukuleles embuing a richness that perfectly compliments Zac Coligan’s sandpaper register. As for tonight’s performance he covers up for Naomi’s absence by looping his guitar or ukulele before swapping to the next instrument, or by throwing in a drum track (the singing saw, just like a theramin, is especially mesmerising). The songs for the most part are off the album (which I totally recommend you get), but he also throws in the occassional ecclectic cover too. The first is Elvis’ “Blue Moon” that by his performance tonight somehow reminds me of Jim Henson (so much so I expected a choir of muppets to burst forth in accompaniment). Even more obscure is a cover of a Massive Attack song from the Batman Forever Soundtrack: “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game” (originally written by Smokey Robinson no less). It’s amazing just how much this one bearded gimp can conjure, it’s a captivating performance in all its quirks. The best solo gigs are like this: rich with character. And when he finished for the night? we didn’t want him to leave. He didn’t have anything prepared off hand, but he still whipped up a killer encore in “Faster By Degrees” all the same. Yup, you know it when you see it: this dude’s a natural. No wonder he’s one of the best bartenders in Adelaide!

The Sea Thieves

In our second act tonight you may notice a slight lineup change (different still from the lineup you might’ve seen just a few nights ago when they played at Rocket Bar). That’d be Clemi their guitarist, trumpeteer, tambourine player and master of the melodica (former bass player for Zeta) who I’m told is apparently “moving to Melbourne”. In her place is violinist and guitarist Tom (no, not Tom Spall from Cortez.. some other guy called “Tom”) and if you have trouble keeping up with THAT shit (and believe me you’re not the only one) it only gets more confusing from here on in. For as I’ve increasingly discovered with The Keepsakes, they go through fourth band members rather like Spinal Tap go through drummers (or somewhere short of what Billy Corgan still likes to laughingly call “The Smashing Pumpkins”). In one year alone they’ve had a revolving roster of fourth band members featuring everyone from Alex Ciaravolo on guitar (from the 20th Century Graduates and formerly from the Lumonics) Felicity on keyboards and melodica (from.. who the fuck knows where!?) to every bespectacled dweeb in between and it’s anyone’s guess why. On the one hand they’re building upon the ecclectic charm of The Keepsakes by adding some of Adelaide’s finest multi-instrumentalists into their repetoire. On the other hand I shudder to think where they “bury” all the bodies (I mean, moving to Melbourne? that’s the oldest trick in the book!). Still when you consider their core lineup, you begin to understand how they can get away with murder. Thanks to the fiendish talents of the brothers Wignall: Anthony and Jon, and what appears to be a twelve year old girl playing the drums (Jeremy?), The Keepsakes are the undeniable masters in all things indie-pop. In their set tonight you can hear influences in everything from The Shins, Wilco, Foo Fighter’s self titled, 90’s Blur to The Dandy Warhols. You can hear it in all the bombast of Oasis with none of the ego. You can hear it in all the melody, harmony and hooks that’d surely drive any cliche crowd of fangirl groupies to crap a lung in hysterics. That’s The Keepsakes. Anthony’s jubilent verse-chorus dynamic. Jon and Jeremy’s simply bouncey rhythms on bass and drums. Even in this shortlived set (and I swear it was over in less that twenty five minutes) you couldn’t help but want to join the party. New “fourth member” Tom and his violin fit the easy going vibe of The Grace Emily brilliantly. And when they invited Jon’s girlfriend on stage to do backup vocals (see video) as blitheringly random as it was to see her up there; it still made perfect sense. Yup, it’s official, The Keepsakes can truly do no wrong!

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