Augie March, Joel Plaskett andThe Emergency @ ANU Bar,14/03/2007

Thu 15th Mar, 2007 in Gig Reviews

It was one crowded hour when Augie March took the stage at ANU bar
for their Canberra stop on their Cold Acre tour. The filled refectory was evidence of
them having finally won mass appeal, following many years of a somewhat cult following that
helped them stick their flag into the territory of Triple J’s most coveted honour – taking out
numero uno in this year’s Hottest 100.

Support act Joel Plaskett
and his band The Emergency made an attempt to warm the stage, with a
quirky-bordering-on-weird show that had me and other audience members somewhat puzzled
as to whether it was all an act or if Plaskett was genuinely peculiar. By
way of Novascotia Canada, the purportedly talented singer/songwriter scored points for
bringing about what Plaskett described “a Commonwealth union in
Canberra”, but his gangly, awkward stage presence distracted from the music, which was
mostly mediocre bar the ballads and opening song Happen Now. Nursery rhymes,
mimed actions and an assortment of percussion instruments made for a combination which was
a little like the Canadian dish Poutine. (comprised of hot chips, gravy and cheese curds…
sounds weird, and well, is weird but in a confusingly okay way.)

After a ri-dic-u-lous-ly
long wait, Augie March finally took the stage just before 11pm.  Their
first song and tour namesake tour, Cold Acre, impressed the crowd with a live
sound demonstrated a well-refined sound developed over the band’s eleven year run. After a
strong beginning, singer/songwriter/guitarist Glenn Richards set the bar low, describing the
planned set as “a little bit all over the shop, so don’t expect a cohesive set or anything…but
anyways we’re gonna have some fun.” And that’s what they did. The big gun was pulled out
early with One Crowded Hour played only a handful of songs into the set, much to the
crowd’s surprise and delight. A little bit of old, a lot of new from their album Moo, You
Bloody Choir, and even some covers, were united by the brilliant, soothing vocal skills of
Richards. Maybe it might’ve been inconsistent… but some might describe it as a diverse set
worthy of plentiful applause.