Seeker Lover Keeper, Seagull @Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne(25/08/2011)

Wed 27th Jul, 2011 in Gig Reviews

When Seagull- which tonight comprises husband and wife Chris Bolton and Ruby Green- wander on stage, most guests in the beautiful Thornbury Theatre are still eating dinner. Bolton opens with Grand Mother, and the grating of cutlery on plates surprisingly clears up as people actually begin to take notice. It’s a questionable setup- or perhaps questionable timing- to have people eating as the opening band plays.

The noise lingers throughout the set as Bolton runs through a half-hour set featuring songs from albums Council Tree and Goodbye Weather. Dust Storm, Grey Cat and set closer Company stand out amongst rambling guitar parts and Bolton’s typically fragile, disaffected vocals.

Tables are cleared in preparation for three of Australia’s leading female singer-songwriters. Seeker Lover Keeper appear from backstage, but only the leading ladies- Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby- take to the stage for acoustic opener Bring Me Back. As Blasko leads the trio through the album opener, it’s pretty clear that the harmonies will be one of the main highlights of tonight.

The backing track to Light All My Lights signals another Blasko led song, and her voice overpowers both Thorsby and Seltmann when they harmonise. For the first third of the set, it seems that the loudest microphone in the mix follows Blasko.

Seltmann takes the lead for most of the middle section. Every Time is introduced as the band’s attempt at a rock song and sees the flare of Jim White’s drumming for the first time. He seems happy enough to take a backseat, never trying to outshine the trio- something that wouldn’t be hard given his incredible gift. Only in rare moments do White’s arms flail in the air as cymbals crash around him; Dirty Three fans might lament a waste of talent. There’s probably not too many D3 fans present though- tonight’s crowd is seems to be mostly occasional gig goers.

Throsby finally gets her chance in the latter parts of the set. She leads the band through the band’s best song, Even Though I’m A Woman. Introduced as “a song about selling stuff and travelling”, it gets the loudest reception (that is, polite clapping) of the night, despite not packing as much as a punch as on record.

With the crowd of occasional gig goers in mind, tonight’s performance satisfies it’s target audience- a majority of the album is played, and each track doesn’t venture too far from it’s studio version. Only in the encore do things get a little unexpected (though, anyone with internet access could’ve guessed what was coming).

The band return for an encore of four covers. Blasko gives Thorsby’s We’re Good People But Why Don’t We Show It? a jazz remake (and White finally lets loose on the drums), Throsby takes on Seltmann (as New Buffalo)’s I’m the Drunk and You’re the Star and Seltmann completes the triangle with her take on Blasko’s We Won’t Run. They all seem to enjoy each of the covers, despite none of them being as striking as the original versions. White and bassist David Symes leave the stage for a final time, leaving the girls for a final cover: Stevie Nicks’ Wild Heart. As with the acoustic opener, the harmonies shine through and are more arresting without the distraction of drums and bass.

Taken for what it is- a pop concert- Seeker Lover Keeper hit the nail on the head tonight. They’re faithful to the sound of their album, just as this crowd would want, and they throw in some awkward banter to win everyone over. More discerning gig goers might pick out flaws in their live sound, but SLK are a band on their first tour, regardless of the combined experience of the three individual performers. They probably didn’t exceed many expectations, but Seeker Lover Keeper met them and- with Seagull- provided a respectable and charming showcase of Australian singer-songwriters.