Jeff Martin @ Jive, Adelaide(22/05/10)

Mon 24th May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

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The sold out Jeff Martin gig was crammed with the older 40 crowd making up the bulk of the adoring fanbase of the fromer Tea Party frontman.

Quaint Brisbane songstress Pearl was a surprising yet welcome support act. Her voice was clear, confident with a bold tone. The girl is certainly one of the better new folk singers in the country, even though she doesn’t possess a specific discernable edge like Julia Stone, Sarah Blasko or Lisa Mitchell. Even still her talent and character is ridiculously endearing and engaging. Later she appeared with Martin in a wonderful and touching duet.

When he began his first song, it was apparent and obviously so that Jeff Martin still owns one of the best voices in rock, deep, yet surprisingly crisp. Vocally he has a presence unmatched by his peers in ‘90s alternative rock. His two 12 string Maton acoustics and one six string, had beautiful full sounds. Sidekick Jay Cortez also in Empire of the Sun created a versatile and sometimes ambient sound from his bass. The pre-recorded elements at the start worked a treat, although personally I would have preferred all songs were completely live.

The pick of tracks, some from his Tea Party back catalogue, were Requiem, Sister Awake and Fire in the Head. One crowd pleasing highlight was Martin’s decision to weave in a plethora of popular covers. Those which made the cut included Somewhere Only We Know by Keane, Heartbeats by The Knife (made popular by Jose Gonzales), Johnny Cash’s Hurt, Joy Division’s Love will tear us apart and Inertia Creeps by Massive Attack. Whilst it was hard to gauge if many in the crowd picked up on the references, the reaction was still very positive.

The only divisive elements about the performance were some of the sleazy sexified banter and some corny poserish and theatrical mannerisms; a sorta hyper-masculinity which is a little out of touch with the current alternative rock environment – one which is increasingly influenced by an increasingly cynical Pitchfork centric indie scene. The paradox is regardless of his talent, he’s now too commercial for an alternative rock scene dominated by post-rock and new-folk…. yet far too eccentric and sexually loaded for the pop scene. It’s unfortunate really. Martin applies a melodic minimalism combined with a musical prowess rarely seen in the current music climate.

With far more talent than most, yet without the social nous to execute it, it’s unlikely he will scale the heights reached with the Tea Party. Yet as a new naturalised Australian hopefully he’ll live out his days in the sun playing enough gigs to keep his music alive for years to come.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.