The Bootleg Sessions @ ThePhoenix, Civic (22/01/07)

Sat 27th Jan, 2007 in Gig Reviews

After waiting in a long line and never getting in last week at the Phoenix to attend the
Bootleg Sessions, it was a long week of being extremely patient, curious and excited till the
following Monday arrived. Well, when it came, I did my best to insure I got in this time and
arrived at least an hour early! To my joy, there wasn’t yet a line-up and I walked
triumphantly through the door! I plunked myself down in the best seat of the house, full of
anticipation of what was for sure to be an excellent night!

For those of you who read my review last week, I had come to the conclusion that standing
in line was possibly more entertaining than being inside the venue itself. Now in regards to
the music, I must say that I didn’t give a standing ovation to every act, but the people and
the ambience there do make it a great night out. The atmosphere in the Phoenix is so
awesome that you feel like you’re sitting next to people you’ve known all your life. You can
tell that everyone inside is happy to be there (probably because they’re not outside in the
line). Everyone has a smile on their face, and – if you wanted to – you could easily talk to
anyone there, whether musician or spectator, over a beer or two and they could become
your newly found best friend.

Jonothan Fisher was the first to get on the stage (or platform might be a better
term for the small wooden construction). The performance from the local solo songwriter
was slightly awkward, but he gave it a good go and the encouraging audience would clap
and cheer after ever song. In between every act, Simon London and Matt Irvin B>, a duo from Western Australia, would alternate a few songs while the next band would
set up. They had a professional stage presence and kept the night going at a great pace.
The Marji Curran Trio had a garage-band type feel and were a group where the girls
outnumbered the guys, as both the vocalist and the drummer were two groovy-looking
chicks. Swinging on the side was a funky slide-guitar player who sounded like he’d
memorised every riff from Xavier Rudd or John Butler. Next up were The Truants,
who were probably my favourite act of the night. They were a bigger band with brass and
all! Their lead singer was sometimes drowned out by all the other funky rhythms and
sounds, but this didn’t stop the crowd from grooving and dancing along with them. Their
sound was a mixture of the Cat Empire and Monsieur Camembert, which sounded a bit too
familiar to me, but they were fun none the less. They were followed by Scission
who had the right look, but their sound just sort of droned on, and the night ended with
some nice guitar by Miguel Sanchez. To pump up each artist and the crowd, the MC
would have a joke and a laugh to keep the crowd entertained, which I really appreciated,
even though at times I felt like I was the only one laughing! Personally, I thought he was
perhaps the best thing on that stage all night!