Archie Roach @ Becks MusicBox, Perth (28/02/11)

Sun 6th Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Archie Roach put on an interesting show at Becks Music Box on Monday night. He is an enigmatic man, full of pride and love for his late wife Ruby Hunter who he paid tribute to throughout the evening. Family is obviously important to Roach as he included in his performance his son, Amos Roach and his nephew Dave Arden. He also shared the evening with two other important Australian songwriters, Shane Howard and Neil Murray.

You may ask, how did this all fit together? Well, the show was split into two parts. The first half was a time for storytelling, a time for Howard, then Roach, then Murray to tell the story of their famous songs which all had concerns for the treatment of indigenous people in Australia at their core. Howard and Murray are whitefellas and their stories were similar in that they grew up with a certain curiosity about the original landowners of this country. Roach himself is a member of the stolen generation, making his story hit a bit more close to home.

Howard’s story was about his song Solid Rock, and about his time growing up and the segregation he was a witness to. He made his way to Uluru and learnt about the aboriginal culture from the people living there. Roach didn’t need much explanation for his iconic song Took The Children Away, but he did tell a small part of his own story as a member of the stolen generation. Murray was perhaps the most humorous in his story about song My Island Home, he talked about the history of the Warumpi Band from Papunya and living out his dream of living like an aboriginal, living off the land in traditional ways, hunting only what you need and being at one with the land.

An interval gave everyone time to stretch their legs before Roach, his son and nephew came back to perform some more of Roach’s songs. This gave more time for Roach to tell more stories. Weeping In The Forrest was a beautiful and moving song about when he asked an elder what it was like during the stolen generation from the perspective of the people that were left behind, who told him how much he missed hearing the kids laugh in the bush and how quiet it was. Roach’s humor came out telling the story behind Charcoal Lane which was written at a time when he and wife Ruby were just meeting and it was sweet the way he talked of her with such affection. I’ve Lied was written at a time when Ruby kicked Archie out which also was told with fondness and nostalgia. The joy and love with which he spoke of his wife allowed her to come alive through his stories and her songs that they played and the crowd appreciated the opportunity, with many cheering when Ruby’s name was mentioned.

Roach and his family really gelled well as performers. Roach’s deep and vibrato voice was a powerful yet refined tool that combined beautifully with Arden’s harmonies. It was a long evening, which ended almost an hour after the scheduled 10pm. The fans loved it, yelling for more even then. Roach himself seemed to be willing to play all night, in the end someone must have indicated side of stage that time was up. In the introduction (which included a welcome to country) it was mentioned that the last time Roach was in Perth was for a visit to hospital so it was fortuitous to see him in much better health. The audience was blessed to have seen this dedicated performer and storyteller.