Candle Records Showcase @Corner Hotel, Melbourne(24/02/06)

Thu 2nd Mar, 2006 in Gig Reviews

Towards the end of the Lucksmiths’ set at the 2006 Candle Records concert, lead singer Tali White pretty much put in a few words what it is about Candle Records that we all love.

“Thanks for not going corporate.”

It is as simple as that.  The Candle label is everything good about music.  It isn’t just a banner under which various musicians stand in order to get music released.  It is something much more valuable and intangible: it is a family. 

The artists are grinning during the entire night – it’s not another concert for them, it’s a family reunion. A Candle performer on the night will most likely be on stage a couple of times, joining another artist for a collaboration just for the fun of it. Jodi Phillis provided enchanting vocals for the Girls From the Clouds and later joined Darren Hanlon for a duet. Tali White played early on with the Guild League and then closed the night out with the Lucksmiths.  Marty Donald of the Lucksmiths played bass for Anthony Atkinson. Louis Richter (as usual) played guitar for everyone, or so it seemed. It’s collaboration, it’s friendship, it’s Candle Records.  And the highlight of the night was also an incestuous affair, with Darren Hanlon, his drummer Bree van Ryk (sultry as usual) and the Girls From the Clouds joining the Lucksmiths for an impromptu rendition of the Smiths’ Ask. 

So, as usual, the concert provided the kind of night that fills you will irresistible happiness, hurts your cheeks because you smile all night, has you singing along to your favourite tunes and buying drinks for everyone (because everyone really is your friend).

But it’s not just about the music. It’s about the stories and secrets we learn during the night. We learn what novel Tali White has been reading, that Darren Hanlon is obsessed with Ben Lee’s blog, and that Mark Monnone and Anthony Atkinson have backstage fights about their onstage apparel (ie “you can’t wear the same colour as me!”). It doesn’t matter that band members are rusty, that banjos are out of tune, that verses are accidentally sung out of order, or that entire lyrics are forgotten. It’s almost a necessity because it’s a party and everyone is just having fun. 

These concerts are a celebration of Candle Records and what it stands for. It represents the passion that those running the label, the artists on the label, and the worldwide fans of the label have for Candle Records. And, perhaps subtly, it is a celebration of the philosophy that Candle subscribes to. It is always easy to say in the early days that “community is more rewarding that corporate”, “we value the artists” and the like. Limited resources means you have to. Rather, it’s what happens years later, when – no, if – the label survives that counts. Whether that initial sense of community survives or whether a corporate is born is what tells us about a firm’s true values. Now in Candle’s thirteenth year, the philosophy of the early days is as evident as ever. The passion is still there and, hence not surprising, so are the fans. So, yes. Thanks Candle!