Whitley @ The HiFi Bar,Melbourne (13/08/2010)

Sat 14th Aug, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Friday the 13th brings bad luck for those who are superstitious – and that bad luck could well be in the fact Whitley are never going to play in Melbourne again. In case you hadn’t heard already, Whitley’s quitting music. Last night at his last ever gig in hometown Melbourne, he left any aspiring musicians who might want to fill his void with some sage advice: “Just write music, give it to your friends and fuck off home.”

Lawrence Greenwood’s deadpan negativity is certainly a defining feature of his live show, and there wasn’t going to be any cheering up for tonight’s final performance. With a bag of stories, advice, youtube quotes and, of course, two sets of the band’s best work – Whitley bowed out at the HiFi Bar in fine form.

“I’ll let you get settled in… When you’re ready… When you’re ready…” Finally – a folkie standing up for the gig goers that actually want to listen. Whitley wasn’t starting until the crowd had hushed, and his patience more or less worked a treat. Opening with the first Whitley song ever written, Cheap Clothes, the HiFi was immediately reminded why they were going to miss Greenwood – his lyricism and the humble power of his vocals as poignant in singing the song now as ever they were.

The first set was only to be made up of six tracks, but Greenwood extended this out with a bunch of stories, most notably one about the Coolabah Café in Yass, where he had ordered a cup of tea, was told yes, then was given a bowl of potato and bacon soup. Whilst such a story seems trivial, Greenwood’s evident frustration at the woman, and the fact he continued to make references to “potato and bacon” the whole night made the story a memorable one.

Greenwood also mulled over the idea of starting a career as a negative stand up comedian. According to band mates, if he were to write books with the negative and positive experiences in his life, the former would be over four volumes, while the latter would read more like a Spot or Grug book. And how to best capture that in a quote: “Is everyone having a good time? [Crowd applause]… Here’s a song about suicide” (the introduction to More Than Life ).

When Greenwood had finished his solo material, he left the stage for an extended break – a strange thing given he’d only been sitting for half an hour. Still, when the band emerged later you could tell this would be an entirely different set of events.

The band could have been at a funeral the way they were all in black (which is fitting). The hum of instruments emerged from the darkened stage; an extended lead-in to set opener, Killer, which certainly kick-started Whitley’s rock side. The song, arguably one of their best, was damaged by feedback spiking, a small disappointment in a song that otherwise matches its name.

Tracks from Go Forth, Find Mammoth featured heavily in the full band’s set, just as earlier songs had made the majority of the solo one. Bright White Lights and Poison In Our Pocket were early goodies that quickly resolved any sound issues that the opener had experienced. All Is Whole was certainly a stand out; the now rock fitting song having come a long way from its humble Submarine beginnings. Oh, and Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game had an attempt thrown in (in jest) as well.

This was also the set for thank yous, and Greenwood sure had plenty to dish out. Multiple shout outs to his parents (who were in the crowd) evoked a few “awww” moments, as did his more than loving stories and thanks for each member of the band – all proving that Greenwood doesn’t always have such a bitter frame of mind.

Rounding things out before Greenwood would leave the stage and pursue his studies to become a physicist (?), Whitley dished out a big delivery of Head First Down and older track Lost In Time. And his parting words, wisely chosen: “FULL DOUBLE RAINBOW”.

Whitley knew how to deliver songs that were beautiful, those that were rockin’ and even those that were both. Complementing this was the fact Greenwood never took himself too seriously, which always made his live shows all the more entertaining. It was good to see Whitley slowly gain the recognition they deserved over the last few years, and it’ll be sad to see them go. How’s about a reunion tour, then?