Sarah Blasko, 78 Saab, LadyJane @ ANU Bar, 20/07/2005

Sun 24th Jul, 2005 in Gig Reviews

I’ve come up with a new way to determine the hype surrounding an artist; send them to Canberra on a freezing cold night, the more people that turn up for the gig the hotter they are. Driving to the ANU Bar to see Sarah Blasko, the thermometer on my car registered a chilly 2.5ºC at 8:00; that’s bloody cold! The Refectory was just starting to fill as I arrived, tonight it had been set up with room for about 700 people.

Lady Jane were the first on the stage, playing a set of simple, good alt-folk music. It was the perfect backdrop for a quiet ale and a bit of a chat. The main support this evening were 78 Saab, one of the few Canberra bands who’ve moved away from this city and seen moderate success. It is interesting to note that the bio on their website seems to ignore their time in Canberra. But despite this there was obviously a bit of hometown pride as this evening’s set was one of the best I’ve seen. The set 78 Saab played was tight and included their latest single No Illusions, which has received massive air play on Triple J of late; Beat of Your Drum, Cops, Come On and We All Get By all from their latest album, Crossed Lines. They also played Sunshine, an old favourite of mine from their last long player. As my companion and I watched we couldn’t help being drawn to the antics of the touring keyboardist, who could not help but draw attention to himself in his straw cowboy hat and his overly enthusiastic tambourine playing. It was such a juxtaposition with the indie stylings of the rest of the band. As has become a tradition for 78 Saab, they concluded their set with a cover of Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World, which they introduced as a John Farnham cover, which was the highlight of their set.

As the time ticked towards 10:30 the crowd migrated towards the stage readying themselves for Sarah Blasko. It was quite obvious whom the crowd was there to see and as she walked on stage she received a massive ovation. She played most of her debut album The Overture and the Underscore this evening, but also included a cover of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road a fan request, but obviously a favourite of hers and one she’s included in her set before.

Sarah Blasko is a truly talented performer; she has no trouble working with a full band and acoustically with only a guitarist to support her. Her voice is as beautiful and haunting as always, a combination of PJ Harvey and Kate Bush. The songs are delicately arranged to highlight the strengths of her voice and lyrics. Obviously relaxed this evening taking time to have a chat to the punters, even wishing one a happy birthday from the stage.

Regaling the crowd with stories of her childhood visits to our cold, cold city, reminiscing about time spent riding her bike around Lake Burley Griffin. Blasko concluded her set with a short “encore”. It was apparent to all that she would be returning as the PA was playing a strange loop of her voice. She concluded the set with a brilliant version of Way With Words which capped off a most enjoyable evening.