Kenny Vasoli @ Amplifier11/10/09

Sat 17th Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

2009 is the year of the solo tours. This year, Perth has been lucky to see a couple of talented front-men take a stool and an acoustic guitar and pull off a 75 minute set. In August, talented vocalist Craig Owens performed songs from his up coming EP Με την αγάπη (With Love) Chiodos, Isles and Glaciers and Cinematic Sunrise songs acoustically for his first ever solo tour. Owens pulled it off beautifully, but Kenny Vasoli of The Starting Line and Person L was even more impressive at Amplifier bar on Sunday night with no backing tracks, no back-up drums or any back-up whatsoever.

Vasoli took the stage after local bands Arms Like Branches, Justin Cox Band and Japanese Tongue Sisters. His crew couldn’t have been more than three people, not including the venue manager who acted as his temporary sound-tech. He had two guitars, both acoustic and one microphone. Nothing fancy, but an eager crowd. He played a cool and collected attitude to his audience, encouraging small-talk between songs and making everything just that little bit more intimate. He talked of Harry Connick Jr and even put on his best Australian accent for a quick laugh and show. For the record, Vasoli isn’t a fan of Connick (“Who is Harry Connick Snr anyway?”) but he was a fan of the kids singing along in the front row.

Vasoli performed several songs from The Starting Line, including popular choices Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us, Playing Favorites and Best of Me. Each song was gentle and melodic, backed with powerful vocals aimed to send a shiver up your spine. It was passionate and well performed, which can’t be easy for songs that usually require three other band members.

After an enjoyable set where things were just about looking to wrap up; a few shout outs from the crowd “Play Best of Me!” and Vasoli immediately cut into the Foo Fighters song for a quick joke. “I’m gonna sue Dave Grohl for that one” he jested, tuning his guitar in preparation of probably the most recognizable TSL song for the night.

Vasoli bought only 4 copies of the unreleased Person L record with him, so it was literally a first in best dress situation. $10 notes were waved around and they were gone in seconds, but Vasoli hung around afterwards making sure everyone who wanted one grabbed a photo or a signature on a free poster or CD cover. “Thank you so much for coming out and supporting me” he said, after shaking my hand. No Kenny, thank you.

Person L’s new album, The Positives, will be in stores November 17, 2009.