The Handsome Family, Schvendes@ Beck's Verandah (25/2/2007)

Wed 28th Feb, 2007 in Gig Reviews

It was still 30 degrees at 8.30pm standing on the Beck’s Verandah, overlooking the Swan River - but listening to the sultry croon, and country inspired melodies of The Handsome Family you could easily be mistaken for thinking you were some place else. The husband and wife duo of Brett and Rennie Sparks from Albuquerque, New Mexico played a bunch of numbers from their career, spanning seven releases, including a strong showing from latest album, Last Days of Wonder. Brett and Rennie Sparks have been married 18 years and writing and releasing music for much of that time, along the way, The Handsome Family have received critical acclaim from sources including Mojo, Uncut and the The Independent.

The couple played their music with Rennie interchanging between playing the electric bass and a banjo and Brett sticking to his electric/acoustic guitar – Brett at times cranking up the effects, with Rennie snapping at him (but in a quite tongue-in-cheek manner), scorning him for jamming while losing himself in his music with his Cooper’s Pale Ale. Their music has a general country feel to it, but to say this only really scratches the surface. At times they are described as having gothic influences, with Rennie’s lyrics focusing on mysticism, naturalism and the macabre. But they convey these themes in a very artistic, even poetic manner; their songs are strictly vocal-centric, the sprawling lyrics provide them with what little structure they poses. However that’s not to say their music is not admirable either. Brett’s musicality provides the perfect backdrop for Rennie’s touching lyrics to take the centre stage. Throughout the show his deep and full voice leaves the audience in awe as he strums melancholic chords on his guitar and offers melodies via his harmonica.

Tesla’s Hotel Room and All the Time in Airports, from 2006’s Last Days of Wonder were both highlights amongst a string of tunes detailing familiar places like airports, hotel rooms, bedrooms and Christmas time with family. Other songs detailed less familiar and unpleasant places like out in space or being alone in the woods. Their first release Odessa also received a good airing with the duo playing the self-described ‘therapeutic murder ballad’ Arlene and also Pony and One Way Up. Other highlights of the set were So Much Wine and Weightless Again.

Perth’s Schvendes were chosen to play on the night after The Handsome Family finished. They have their similarities to the head-liners, what with the Gothic, country and blues-rock influences. Vocalist Rachael Dease was in fine form on the night too and her prescence made sure the crowd stuck around to witness the band. However while being a great band in their own right they lack the depth and polish that The Handsome family, in their maturity, pose.

On what was one of the warmest evenings of the summer, even The Handsome Family’s Brett Sparks was forced to call for a towel to wipe the sweat from his face in between songs – luckily the couple’s melodramatic mock-bickering in between songs provided the crowd with more than a few laughs. Brett and Rennie provided anecdotes about Brett’s father and life back home, Rennie even divulged her love for Viking Sagas and her attempts to translate this into a song. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it, she confessed her attempt was not successful and she changed the Viking references in the song to snakes and the sword references to whisky and the couple both agreed that the song was much better off for it.

The most enlightening thing about The Handsome Family though, is not their music but rather their music is simply the medium for their personality to shine through and communicate what it feels like to them to be human. As entertainers they were not entirely fulfilling but as artists you have to admire them.