Old Man River, Cuthbert & theNightwalkers, Lisa Mitchell @The Troubadour 18/07/07

Thu 19th Jul, 2007 in Gig Reviews

As I arrived late at the Troubadour the line seemed to start outside the door until I caught sight of the sign reading “Sold Out” – no wonder everyone outside had a cigarette and sour look.

Walking up the steps I could already hear the baby girl voice of Australian Idol top-tenner Lisa Mitchell, but could not see her for the ever growing mass of bodies who were packed right back to the bar. Playing songs from her debut LP Said One To The Other, Lisa almost seemed like she would rather be at home jamming in her bedroom to the cat. Singing to the walls, house lights and ceiling and explaining her song meanings to the floor in an inaudible squeak of a voice, the Troubadours sold out audience didn’t seem to have much interest in her at all as the conversations grew louder over Lisa’s much trialed efforts to strum harder and sing louder. This young girl has a lot to learn about making herself heard and packing some extra stage presence in beside the lip gloss.

After what seemed like almost an hour Sydney ten piece Cuthbert & the Nightwalkers took to the stage, though tonight we were entertained by just an acoustic quartet of the ten man band. When Richie sang, the crowds’ murmurs became low as his catchy pop lyrics and charisma demanded attention. Singing songs such as Backstage At A Play and Maggie’s Health, Cuthbert & the Nightwalkers seemed to have it all from plastic kazoos, red taffeta suits and even the humble recorder. The only thing that seemed to take the focus away from the songs were his three backing singers who swayed and bopped to every song making this seem more of a comedy act than a serious performance. From the round of applause they received after their final song, one would expect great things to come from this band, or was it just a sign of relief that it was over?

As the audience disbanded for cigarettes and cold bevies some took the early advantage of standing and moving closer to the front to gain a good viewing point, which proved a good idea. Tanya Horo kicked off the set with a short solo on the sitar, getting the attention of many and drawing everyone over from the bar. The rest of the band joined her on stage, closely followed by lead vocalist Old Man River aka Ohad Rein. Opening track Sunshine got the Troubadour floor moving up and down as Ohad motioned to the crowd to get up and dance. Performing on such a small stage, the band at times seemed to be quite crowded and needed more room to breath, as did the shoulder to shoulder audience who worked up a sweat quite fast with the layers of clothing being peeled off three songs in. Singing a list of hits from Sunshine, his debut album, such as Trousers, Believe It, Long Way From Home and infectious sing-a-long La, Old Man River delivered another superb performance, and one of the years most memorable indie shows at the Troubadour.