Oliver Mann, Nick Huggins,E-wah Lady @ The NorthcoteSocial Club, Melbourne(29/10/2009)

Sat 31st Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

At the door of the Northcote Social Club on Thursday night, one patron turned to his mate and asked, “Is this a silent gig?” This was certainly a fair question and summed up the room upon entrance. E-wah Lady, who opened the stage with her band, wasn’t deterred by the strange calm though, even suggesting that it was such awkward silences that make the night. The singer songwriter played to a modest crowd, presenting her intriguing soundscapes to a few new ears.

Amongst her set, the appropriately lonesome sounding Lovely Night to be Alone stood out with its gentle bells and violin, and another track entitled When You’re Down and Out saw E-wah Lady very bravely singing completely solo with no accompaniment – something you don’t see too often. The gently diabolic sounding The Dirt is Red was the highlight though, its eerie violin outro defining the distanced sound E-wah Lady creates.

Doing it solo was Nick Huggins, who was up next to perform his down tempo pop. Seated with his only his guitar and Mac, Huggins made a similarly gentle impression on the audience to E-wah Lady, only his was a lot more stripped back. Often he would begin a song with extended silences broken only by a couple of strums, which all sounded very remote in the noiseless band room. Switching from guitar to an effects keyboard attached to his computer, Huggins moved from his acoustic sound into electronic, ambient territory, experimenting with sounds to back up his voice. Along with charming lyricism (with strange observations like, “the divers at the Olympics don’t look at one another before they jump”), Huggins was certainly a calm, yet appropriate support choice.

Oliver Mann is instantly impressive. In the quiet environment of the NSC, Mann’s voice was an absolute pleasure from his set’s beginning. Backed by his full band, the gig was in support of his latest release, Tin Power; a track that appeared early in the set before a crowd half seated on the floor. “You can dance to this if you like,” Mann proclaimed ironically as he and his band produced the serene number, his classical and operatic tones ringing out beautifully.

With a full band in tow, Mann’s repertoire of songs was instantly more energetic than his solo shows. Amongst a vast array of instrumentation and techniques, distorted violin and musical saw stood out in tracks, as did the sweet harmonies of Mann’s female backing vocalists who really lifted Mann’s dominant voice. Whilst many arrangements were simplistic, slight ensemble additions such as these gave Mann a greater edge to his music and, judging by the respectful silence, the crowd seemed very appreciative of this.

Mann’s set consisted of tracks mostly taken from his album, The Possum Wakes At Night. Most songs in the set, which included vocally dominant tracks like Sun Shines On and Diamonds and Silver, were easily distinguishable in their own right whilst staying true to Mann’s style, showing his creativity in song writing. Particularly standing out amongst the list though was the pop excursion of Dancing, a song of sheer joy, complemented by the tinkering of a miniature xylophone. This was the track people could actually dance to.

Further adding to Mann’s charm was his dry humour shining through between tracks. He accepted feedback spikes in one track, casually claiming they were meant to happen. He then went on to plug the amazing churches he and the band have been playing in around the country, offering that this room was no exception of course.

Mann concluded his set with Burning Fire, an episodic number that moved seamlessly from one section to the next. Thanks to the crowd becoming animated enough to applaud him back out, though, Mann returned for an encore despite having reservations about doing so: “Well I haven’t practiced it so if I fuck it up don’t blame me.” The majesty in the rises and declines of Mann’s solo Shoe of Leather was incredible, his voice sliding stunningly between baritone and soprano. The final song could not have been more impressive and appreciated by the crowd, proving what a unique asset Oliver Mann is to the Melbourne music scene.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE