An evening with Josh Pyke and Bob Evans: an emerging Sydney troubadour and a rock star that refuses to accept that his name is Kevin Mitchell. Both artists perform acoustic sets on a Sunday evening. Surely you can’t go wrong.
But something did. Not a train wreck. certainly no disaster, but something was amiss.
Bob Evans is the stage name of former Jebediah frontman Kevin Mitchell. Why he goes by this name is a bit of a mystery to some. The name itself is very generic and not very exciting. It is the name of an award winning finger guitarist (not Mitchell) and also the name of a chain of family restaurants in the US. I think they specialise in sausages. Still, don’t let this detract from Evans’ music.
Evans’ solo career could not be more different from his Jebediah days. There was less noise and more of an alt/country feel to the tunes. The drums and bass were replaced with a harmonica on the night. The songs were about more grown up things, like settling down with a partner, rather than leaving home for the first time. Yet one factor remained: the Mitchell voice. Evans’ voice is rather nasal and while this makes his vocal delivery unique and interesting, with only the guitar in support, it became a little too dominating over the set. Evans opened with the beautifully honest ‘For Today’ and ran through a string of songs from his two albums, but towards the end of the set, most apparent in ‘Sore Eyes’, the vocals became a bit of a nuisance rather than the asset they began as. The redeeming feature of Evans’ set was his guitar work. Too many musicians merely ‘play’ the guitar these days. It is not the simplest of instruments to master, and being able to strum the guitar properly adds a lot to a solo show. Evans’ guitar work was bold and assured, adding an element of percussion to each song. Hopefully Pyke takes a bit more away from the tour with Evans than the good memories.
The highlight of the evening was clearly the middle of the show, where Pyke joined Evans on stage to play a few songs. Pyke has a sweet voice and this did great things to Evans’ songs. It went to show what a fuller sound can do. Similarly, the banter between the two was very amusing. Evans had tried all night to tell jokes on stage, but he is no comedian. With the Pyke also on stage, the show became less a performance to a Melbourne crowd and more two friends playing an impromptu gig for their pals. Everything in the room became much more relaxed and the crowd enjoyed things a lot more.
Evans then left the stage for the main event of the night. Pyke has been gathering a strong following with his recent releases catching the attention of many. But he was a tad disappointing on the night. His vocals took a little while to warm up, and during the night they varied between average (‘Kids Don’t Sell Their Hopes So Fast’) and beautiful (‘Doldrums’). The difficult notes were hit, but the simple ones were sometimes missed. It felt as if he was not concentrating. Similarly, the guitar work was at times sloppy. Nonetheless, poor musicianship can be easily hidden by great songs, and Pyke is not short of them. On top of those already mentioned, ‘Private Education’ and ‘Gold Mine’ are two more fantastic songs that were delivered in Pyke’s set. But it was ‘Middle of the Hill’, a sweet, catchy childhood story told with a punchy tune that stole the show. Pyke delivered the song with such innocence and charm, almost allowing us to forgive him for the indifferent set and evening. Almost.
