Josh Pyke, Emma Louise, ThePaper Kites @ Metro, Sydney(10/9/11)

Mon 12th Sep, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The last time Josh Pyke performed a solo show at the Metro he experienced a rare but fabulous thing where everything went extremely well. He exclaimed that if he were to retire tomorrow, he’d do so happily. That was in 2008 and now having completed his duties as one quarter of supergroup Basement Birds and having become a first-time daddy, it was time to get on with the show. The question was, would the same magic happen?

First on the bill were Melbourne quintet, The Paper Kites. With an acoustic guitar, bass, drums, electric guitar and banjo, they launched into a folk-rock number that was as bright as Boy & Bear’s recent work, albeit with a few less harmonies. During Woodland most of the group swapped instruments with Christina Lacy playing the mandolin for music that seemed to sit somewhere between the wistful Oh Mercy and the lush sounds of The Lighthouse Keepers.

It was The Paper Kites’ first Sydney show and frontman, Sam Bentley declared, “We’re not Josh Pyke”. Regardless, they certainly were a good fit for Pyke’s fans with their sunny numbers like Featherstone and Bloom, which made everyone feel so buoyant you could almost drift up, up and away. But it was a cover that ultimately scored the most points with them. It was a version of Laura Marling’s Rambling Man where Lacy took on part of the lead vocals and left me thinking that these guys have what it takes to be another Cloud Control in what was a short, punchy set.

The second act was the supremely talented Queenslander, Emma Louise. She beguiled us with her natural ability to play, sing and write so many good tunes. She admitted she’s a fan of Pyke’s – having listened to him in high school, so not only talented but rather young – and that she would happily be cheering him from the crowd had she not gotten the gig.

The diminutive singer-songwriter was dwarfed by the size of her acoustic guitar. She sounded a lot like Sarah Blasko (and even looked like her in a vintage dress) and at other moments she played the kind of evocative folk music (like Al’s Song ) that Judy Collins has written and covered over her decades in the business. Morning Eyes was written at the time of the Queensland floods and is about being away from your love and missing them. The track verged on the hymn-like, as her angelic voice reached up high to the heavens.

Temporary Friend was a sweet song with Eric Clapton-inspired acoustic guitar and was about discovering whether you’re going to be good friends and stay with your partner or not. By comparison, Sun & Moon was about a friend’s bad relationship. Jungle was some catchy pop before Louise bid farewell to her band dropping ever so casually that her keyboardist – one who’d learnt her songs in three days – was none other than Bree Tranter from the now defunct, The Middle East. For the finale, Louise performed by herself with an acoustic guitar and it proved a highlight to hear a song she’d written about her aunt’s grief over losing her childhood sweetheart and husband of decades. There was a dull hum in the room but it was dazzling and so darned soft and tender.

The only real criticism of Louise’s set was the stage banter. While it was great to have every song introduced, some of it was plain bizarre (“Everyone get their iPhones out so the people up the back can see”). And there was also the mundane (“I just found $2 on the stage – who needs $2?”) It’s sad to say but it was jarring to hear and detracted from the stunning, folk-pop songs she played.

It was obvious that the audience this evening were up for anything. When Pyke’s band entered the stage there was a pause before the star joined them. When he did arrive there was lots of cheers and this continued into the dense, Clovis’ Son where people filled in the quieter parts with their individual signs of appreciation. Adding to the surreal situation was the fact that Josh’s shadow appeared to be dancing on the side of the Metro. Spooky.

The Summer got people singing along with the golden, Jack Johnson-like ode to everyone’s favourite season. Lapping up the reception and warmth from this hometown crowd, Pyke would alternate between material mainly from his Only Sparrows and Chimney’s A Fire records. He played Mr. All-round nice guy in Good Head Start and would later promote the indigenous literacy charity before fans got their iPhones out the cute ditty, Forever Song.

For someone who proudly sings about being the “happiest fucker” if he wrote a sad song everyday in No One Wants A Lover, there was certainly a lot of joy in the room for that plus Make You Happy. Pyke asked the crowd who owned the new record and “calculated” that this was 87% of the people present and that the band had a job to do. This role included pumping out lots of new material like: Coffee Cups, Factory Fires, Tapping On A Secret and Punch In The Heart. The latter – originally a duet sung with Katy Steele – saw Pyke invite Emma Louise back on-stage where she shone.

The older material got a slight makeover in that Pyke’s band had to perform along with prerecorded parts because their instruments were limited. The group included: Russell Crawford (bass), Joshua Schubert III (drums) and the “genetically superior” Matt Fell (guitar and keys). Memories & Dust was enjoyable and like some of the older material was the kind of thing that rekindled affection in the date-night couples, in fact you could almost see some of them falling in love again.

The Lighthouse Song was all-play with people singing a little too enthusiastically about not letting “those fuckers in”. The laughs would continue into the banter where Josh briefly ragged on Kiwis and his jovialness would continue when he sang an impromptu Happy Birthday to a fan before receiving some of it back in Middle Of The Hill.

Josh then proceeded into a triptych of new songs that included: Follow Me Down, Particles and set closer, The World Is A Picture. The audience had been very well behaved, giving him their undivided attention (because he’s a consummate entertainer and there’s certainly a lot of potential in the new stuff). But there’s always one. A lady at the back of the Metro loudly cried, “Not another new one!” towards the end.

Personally, there were a lot of songs that were neglected tonight including: Beg Your Pardon, Vibrations In The Air and Fill You In, not to mention the old singles like: Private Education, Fed & Watered, Lines On Palms and Sew My Name. Let’s just say a few more of these would have gone down very well. But Pyke did return for an encore that included some old material. Kids Don’t Sell Their Hopes So Fast was a slightly rockier version while Silver was introduced as the one performed way-back-when in the pub in Balmain.

But the set highlight was the finale, Love Lies where Pyke was alone with a mic, acoustic guitar and some loop pedals. So how do you make a Josh Pyke performance better you may ask? Well, you ramp it up to ten and add echo to the max- Pyke vs. Pyke! It was a perfect and sublime folk ballad full of exquisite metaphors and Josh left his singing on loop at the end as the houselights came up. Sure it wasn’t a new idea and anyone that’s seen Liam Finn live knows how handy he is with a pedal or 10, but by gosh it was amazing to behold Pyke in full, soulful glory (albeit the blue-eyed kind).

In short, Josh Pyke provided many reasons why he shouldn’t retire just yet. The new material definitely resonates with people and holds lots of promise. But there certainly wasn’t the same magic as the last show on these premises. Something was missing and for most people that was an old favourite or two that were basically left to form memories and dust.