Darren Hanlon, Carry Nation @The Street Theatre, Canberra(2/3/11)

Fri 4th Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Folk troubadour, pinball aficionado and Canberra favourite Darren Hanlon returned to the capital with his Butterfly Bones Tour last night for the second time in less than a year, showcasing songs from his latest album as well as some older crowd pleasers.

With Tilley’s, arguably his spiritual gig venue, unavailable and following a three month US tour alongside Saddle Creek’s Tim Kasher, UK alternative and left-wing folk rocker Billy Bragg, singer-guitarist Corin Tucker and musician Sean Lennon, Hanlon instead provided the final curtain call on his latest studio album I Will Love You At All at
Canberra’s Street Theatre prior to departing on a world tour.

Opening the show, and resplendent in turquoise, was Brisbane/Melbourne Triple J Unearthed indie act Carry Nation (or Jessie, if you prefer). After overcoming an initial glitch (needing to plug in her guitar), Carry Nation proceeded to play some of her moving, acoustic songs, including Phil Spector, Runaway (inspired, it seems, by The Lion Sleeps Tonight) and a ghostly version of Have You Ever Seen the Rain. With a voice blending Laura Marling and Lissie, Carry Nation was slightly nervous and (perhaps ironically, given her temperance-inspired stage name) sipped glasses of red in between songs and occasionally chatted with the audience. Having toured with Hanlon in the last week, Carry Nation admitted to having learnt quite a lot, not all of it welcome and most perhaps best left unspoken. I was left with the feeling that, with only a little more exposure to live performance, Carry Nation could very easily become a powerful and evocative stage presence. Overall her performance was a pleasant intro, full of potential and well liked by the crowd (some of whom happened to be her extended family).

Darren Hanlon began solo with the classic She Cuts Hair, after which he proceeded to compliment his new surroundings, noting that many of those in the audience were transplanted from his Tilley’s gigs. He also shared a story about his new Blundstone boots, a gift from his father which he felt would be better suited to a B&S.

With lead track and favourite Butterfly Bones (the third single taken from I Will Love You At All), Hanlon introduced the rest of the band; long-time member Cory Gray (his 6th time in Australia) on keyboards, piano and trumpet, The Lucksmith’s Mark Monnone on bass and Steph Hughes on drums. After regaling the audience with a slight digression into the making of a music video for the latest album, including an encounter with Australian author and political commentator Bob Ellis, Hanlon was further joined by the charming Shelly Short on guitar and vocals. Short accompanied him on his last tour to Canberra and can be heard on the tracks All These Things and (along with Alia Farah) the stripped-back folk-version of the bittersweet favourite Scenes From a Separation. Together they played Happiness is a Chemical from the 2006 LP Fingertips and Mountaintops as well as an as yet unnamed duet. Following intensive touring throughout the US and Australia, the subtle improvement in the timing and interplay between Hanlon and Short was definitely obvious. Moreover, Short’s delicate voice is used to great effect, adding a little softness to Hanlon’s lyrically rich though sometimes roughly finished songs.

As ever, Hanlon was highly conversational, witty and relaxed throughout the evening. As is becoming customary for his gigs, Hanlon’s pet love of pinball gaming came up, mostly because performing in the city meant venturing beyond the usual boundaries of Lyneham. This led him to happily discover that not only was Capital Funland Amusements in Civic still going strong, more importantly, it was now home to the new Iron Man pinball machine. Hanlon then launched into a quick and humorous version of Here Comes the Sun from the point of view of a vampire, followed by Winter Takes Fall, much to the crowd’s delight. From the new album, he played I Waited for the 17, (dedicated earlier that day to Canberra’s public transport system), Scenes From a Separation and If Only My Heart Were Made of Stone, all very happily received. With Canberra catching the tail-end of his Australian tour, there was some evidence of a rough and weary voice, however Hanlon’s charming and catchy narrative overcame any strain in both old and new songs.

With more room to manoeuvre, The Street Theatre stage gave the Canberra crowd something new; a more active, improvising and sometimes dancing Darren Hanlon (though as he himself admitted, you could hardly call it dancing). But throughout much of the later act (which included a segue into Dire Straits’ Going Home) Hanlon used the stage to good effect, playfully interacting with the band and performing from various locations and positions. Canberra’s trademark heckling was also on show, though Hanlon (clearly missing it or unaccustomed to playing without it) had to fish for it initially, after which a barrage of what he termed ‘cerebral heckling’ emanated from the crowd throughout the remainder of the performance.

Hanlon followed the show with an encore comprising three songs; Electric Dreams, which is quickly becoming his signature encore song, followed by his intensely personal ode to renovation rage House from the new album and, lastly, Electric Skeleton from 2009’s Pointing Rayguns at Pagans.

Despite its theatre-style seating, The Street Theatre proved a warmly intimate venue, well-suited to Hanlon’s stage presence and interaction with the audience. Though more accustomed to a cramped table setting, as well as the clinking of glasses and shuffling of patrons considered normal at a Tilley’s gig, Hanlon’s act translated well onstage and both the band and his fans, who are quietly proprietary of both Hanlon and his songs old and new, clearly enjoyed the night.