When Josh Pyke’s management booked his February appearance at the Zoo, they probably didn’t realise he’d be coasting into town on the back of a top 20 spot in JJJ’s hottest 100 (number 19 for Middle Of The Hill). It’s even possible they didn’t realise he would be the station’s new singer-songwriting golden boy. But he did, and he is, and last night at the Troubadour, Josh Pyke proved that he is definitely worth all the fuss.
The newly refurbished Troubadour is the perfect venue for Josh’s triumphant return to Brisbane. With it’s newly raised stage and comfortable, lounge-room style décor, the only fact working against the venue is it’s size. It’s a narrow, crowded room, and it sells out well before the first act takes the stage, even though tickets were not available before the night. The line up goes down the stairs, out the door and down the mall, and many punters will be turned away before night’s end.
The opening act is Tom Cooney, another solo performer. His ear to ear grin as he takes the stage can probably be attributed to the fact that the crowd is already packed in, wall to wall. He glides gently through a series of songs, and although his guitar work is good at best, he has a wonderful voice that strikes deep down to the core. He plays soft songs, there’s no big hooks or catchy melodies here, but the crowd laps it up, and he leaves the stage to well earned and enthusiastic applause.
St Andrews Fall are the only multi-person group of the night. A four piece, they start off with one of the singers playing an acoustic and the other with an electric. The two instruments complement each other, and its an exciting and well constructed number that bodes well for what’s to come. Unfortunately, the acoustic guitar disappears, and once it does, it’s pretty much straight down the line from there. St Andrews Fall are fine musicians, with reasonable skills on their instruments, but there’s nothing here to set them apart from the many standard four piece rock bands kicking around at the moment. The acoustic makes a welcome reappearance at the end for another standout song, but it’s too little too late, and the crowd which has come for a night of soft music and warm storytelling lose some of their interest by the end.
Of course, Josh is simply a man on a stool with a guitar, so a quick stage change later, he strides onto stage, to loud applause, although most of the crowd remains in their seated position. He takes a seat on the stool, centre stage, thanks everyone for coming, and begins playing. Warm applause greets every song, but he also takes time out between each song to talk to the crowd. Like a comedian dealing with hecklers, he plays it up, giving an indepth intro to each song, including playing an older song (Chemistry Sold) which was requested through Internet website MySpace. He even laughs it off when someone asks him to play a Dan Kelly song, launching into a story about playing with Dan and his slightly famous brother Paul (Kelly), and how that lead to the writing of his current song Private Education. The crowd hangs on his every word, and Josh Pyke proves himself a consummate entertainer. He hits most of the songs from his new EP Feeding The Wolves, but also plays older songs such as Kids Don’t Sell Their Hopes So Fast and The Doldrums. Hit single Middle Of The Hill makes an appearance late in the set, and that’s probably for the best, since some of the fair-weather fans use the opportunity to leave. It’s their loss, because Pyke is in fine form, and rounds out the shortish set with the eponymous Feeding The Wolves.
Nobody sticks around for an encore, simply because Pyke has confessed that he has no more songs, so there will be no encore. Instead, the remaining crowd members head for the door, their appetite for emotional acoustic masterpieces well and truly sated. Singer-songwriters might be a dime a dozen, but Pyke has definitely established his credentials as one of the best around, and should remain so for years to come.
