Jamie Hutchings, Matt Banham @The Grace Emily, Adelaide(12/10/09)

Sat 17th Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Matt Banham is, it would seem, constantly beseeched by demons. And only his trusty acoustic guitar can keep them from plucking his heart out while he sleeps. Jayney would like to bake Mr Banham a cake with candy-pink icing and a big happy rainbow with the message Cheer Up Matt! Except that something horrible would almost-certainly burst out of the cake and suck the jelly from his eyeballs. Dougie just thinks he needs a hug.

On the bright side, he’d have another painfully-haunted song to add to his already-pretty-fricken-haunted set. If you haven’t worked it out already, Banham’s songs tend to be a little on the dark side. Quite different from his work in No Through Road, but no less engaging. We will admit, we prefer the songs with a full band behind them (especially an indie rock anthem such as Party To Survive ), but it’s a pleasant change to see an Adelaide performer who can manage to get a whole room singing along with him. That’s quite a feat in oh-so-shy Adelaide.

Jamie Hutchings of Bluebottle Kiss is one of Australia’s greatest, and most underappreciated, songwriters. Seeing him play in such an intimate setting was a real treat. Sure, one could have been disappointed at the meagre turnout, OR one could be stoked that so many loyal fans came out on a Sunday night to a completely-unadvertized gig! It truly pays to Facebook-stalk the people in bands that you like.

The set was a mixed bag of material from his new solo album His Imaginary Choir and older Bluebottle Kiss tracks. Jamie Hutchings solo presents a more open, more talkative, and far more interactive experience than when fronting the band, and it was so much fun to hear some of the stories behind the songs, and behind the title of Jayney’s favourite Bluebottle Kiss album, Revenge Is Slow. The French have a phrase for that, incidentally: esprit d’escalier. It translates roughly to ‘The Phrase on the Stairs’, and is the awesome comeback you think of only AFTER storming out in a huff.

The performance was outstanding, and his voice was spot-on. As much as we love the whole band experience, there is something special about hearing the songs how they were written: with a man and his guitar. There’s a story that our friend told us about Hutchings playing Girl Genius for the first time in his backyard, and this night at the Grace Emily felt a little like that: just hanging out with a great guy who happens to write amazing songs, and feeling honoured to hear him share some of the greatest songs ever written with us. Thanks, Jamie.