Van Dyke Parks, Kinky Friedman@ The Governor Hindmarsh,Adelaide (01/07/11)

Sun 3rd Jul, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It was an interesting sight to see a wide group of over 60s seated at The Gov in anticipation for a performance by Van Dyke Parks and Kinky Friedman. It was even stranger to see Adelaide folk pop collective Mountbatten playing to a crowd around forty years older than them. Having said that the reception given to the softly spoken but pleasant sounding act (sans their rhythm section tonight) was warm and polite. The band has improved of late, as the members develop their chemistry and sharpen their songwriting and they now have some real gems in their repertoire. It will be good to watch this band as they start to emerge, it is a pity bassist Ben Revi and new addition drummer Alister Douglas weren’t present but it was probably in keeping with the tone of the night.

Van Dyke Parks is a curious sort. An infamous character in the history of the Beach Boys, especially given his later reworking of Smile with Brian Wilson and to local younger audiences for his arrangements on Silverchair’s on Diorama, the man is actually fabulous pianist in his own right. His southern old time piano playing more than made up for his unique but hardly well tuned vocal chords. In fact his work as a vocalist is a great reminder of how important character is to Local double bassist Harley Gray played his part, impressive that he had only met and rehearsed with the star hours earlier. His playing was solid and intuitive without for a second intruding into the arrangements set out by the star. Van Dyke Parks is an avid storyteller and took a lot of time to explain the contexts of songs, often reminiscing about his Mississippi childhood. His mannerisms and random turns of phrase were certainly odd in part, but made his performance a lot more interest. His passionate style of piano was refreshing as the Southern techniques and influences aren’t often heard in Adelaide. His part of show was perhaps a little short, but he did come on later to play with Kinky Friedman.

Kinky Friedman was by far the star of the show. The man is a bonafide storyteller and a bit of a stirrer to boot, and unsurprisingly he was utterly captivating. His hits They don’t make jews like Jesus anymore and I’m Proud to be an Asshole from El Paso went down a treat with the crowd, many of whom had really turned up for Van Dyke Parks. However it was his dirty, smutty humour and brazenly politically incorrect comments that were the best value. There was a bit of Johnny Cash about his style and mannerisms and with cigar in hand he played up his tongue-in-cheek southern cowboy persona to great effect. His political discussions were somewhat interesting as was his tale about Willie Nelson and weed prior to his song about the said country icon and popular American pastime. Things got a little solemn at one point as he lamented the change in America and when he read an excerpt from his book Heroes of a Texas Childhood. It’s hard to say if this is what the crowd turned up for, the passage about his father was okay, sentimental with a few touches of humour but it did slow the pace of the night down a bit. However things picked up a little when Van Dyke Parks came up for a duet and the two friends played off each other and members of the crowd, given their fans value for their money.

Overall the crowd appeared thoroughly entertained and it was interesting to see the things which turn on older generations as opposed to the younger ones more attuned to more instant hooks and less interaction between songs. The old style of entertainment probably has had its day, but looking around the room one couldn’t help but feel a little sad about the gradual passing of a unique era.