New Buffalo w/ Laura Jean @The Factory Theatre(10/05/2007)

Mon 14th May, 2007 in Gig Reviews

Finding it difficult to get past the swarming crowd of people, anxious to storm the Enmore Theatre to see Silverchair on Thursday night, made the Factory Theatre seem even more intimate; New Buffalo was the best kept secret it seems. Not to give the impression that this show wasn’t ablaze with an eager audience, calmer and more grown-up perhaps, but just as enthusiastic.

Entering the large room, the atmosphere was more like a get together than a concert, people hummed to the bar and back, chatting in small groups. Tonight, the theatre was actually a theatre, set up with calculated unreserved seating. This meant two things: New Buffalo has moved up in the world, with her second album release Sally Seltmann wants to put on a show rather than just a gig, and with this the concentration is on the music more than anything else.

Since the release of her EP The Hunter’s Ode in 2003, Laura Jean has established herself as a gifted songwriter again and again. Even more embraced was her debut album - œOur Swan Song’, released in May 2006. This reflects on many of her wonderful attributes, however her true gift is her magnificent voice, with as much sorrow as beauty. The stage made Laura Jean and ensemble look quite small, and this was magnified more so by the many seats that lay in front of her, however, the majority were filled. The crowd welcomed her warmly as her voice soared over guitar strumming and fiddle fiddling. I was impressed by her instrumentation, both simplistic and lovely – and the violinist to her left did backing vocals all at once.

Most well received was her song - œI’m a Rabbit, I’m a Fox’ ; introducing it to the crowd beforehand, she gleefully admitted, “Ah, there are some rabbit fans out there.” She played the song with ease, sharing the glorious harmony with her second guitarist, Jen Sholakis (Jen Cloher & The Endless Sea). The song that stood out the most, however, was It’s Supposed to be Summer, which trembled delicately, with beautiful violin counter-melodies and lyrics like, “You are so right, what I’m trying to say is I love you too.”

There was much hustle and bustle on the stage before New Buffalo began. Most people took their seats, seized a stool or found their place on the floor. Sitting at the large grand piano, Seltmann wriggled until she found a comfortable position, and the audience now felt they could applaud. A flourish of colourful ornaments, the piano chinked and chimed, and as this became more rudimentary City And Sea (Lady Nameless) began. Seltmann’s voice was sweet and breathy, with a very intriguing jaded tone – rather than using a lot of accent and emphasis on the singing, she conveyed the emotion of her songs lyrically. Her vocals were very beautiful and she had no trouble hitting the extremely high notes, which appear often in her melodies.

The audience was quiet, as Seltmann produced a wonderful performance, rattling off song after song. The songs from Somewhere, Anywhere, her second record, dominated the set including the upbeat It’s True and Emotional Champ and the slow and stunning Stay With Us and You’ve Gone My Friend. Seltmann chatted away to the crowd, explaining how she always forgets her guitar stand, as her two co-musicians (including John Lee, from Mountains in the Sky) swapped and sorted their instrument of choice for the next song.

Lyrically one understands that Seltmann writes about her own life; in her song, Versay, she sings, “Her house is different, that’s because she cares, what’s hanging from the stereo she made with her own hands”. Cheer Me Up Thank You, the single from the second record, was a great crowd pleaser, however, there was a lot more restlessness and murmuring from the audience after it was played. Seltmann rehashed some oldies including ‘Recovery’ and I’ve Got You, And You’ve Got Me, which was amazing played on the piano. The best song of the night however, was I’m The Drunk And You’re The Star. The melody was so mournful and delicate, highlighting the best line of the night, “You cried your eyes out when I was gone”, which stretches to the height of Seltmann’s vocal range.

Finishing this wonderful set with Misery And Mountains, Arrows And Bows, New Buffalo left the stage, interestingly without an encore, which it highly deserved. I wondered whether the Silverchair patrons had this feeling of satisfaction.

Check out the pics from the gig here