Reviewed by Ray Smith, Thursday 11th June 2015
'Neat casual' might be the phrase to describe the bands' attire as
Tex Perkins And The Dark Horses neatly and casually led their audience through some laid back and understated songs.
No gold lamé and side slits to be seen in this very subdued segment of the Cabaret Festival, although Tex had left the top button of his chequered shirt unfastened.
The opening song,
Lucky Me, may have been a comment on Tex's inclusion in the Cabaret Festival, or perhaps his opportunity to perform in this particular venue, but it was the audience that was in luck, as the band calmly and effortlessly lulled them into a blissful state.
Most members of the band chose to sit in one way or another and only Tex and guitarist Joel Silbersher stayed on their feet.
Charlie Owen, sat as most keyboard players do, even while playing the various guitars that he doubled on. Murray Paterson, or Doctor Murray Paterson as he was introduced, perched on what seemed to be a very uncomfortable chair as he played a nylon string guitar, but seemed even less comfortable on the piano stool when doubling on keyboard. Gus Agars sat behind his drum kit, which tends to be the norm, unless you are Trilok Gurtu, and Stephen Hadley played the bass from a chair with one foot casually up on the drum riser.
The impression was one of calm and relaxation and it was infectious.
There were no heroics. No soaring guitar solos, no mournful wailings on the lap steel, just well orchestrated and executed songs that were intelligent and understated. Solid and empathetic backing vocals from Silbersher and Agars nurtured Perkins's lead lines and, if the contrived American accents caused me an involuntary twitch, I chose to ignore it.
Joel Silbersher seemed to be having some feedback issues during his very tasteful solos and, despite Robby Kreiger's famous comment that, "Gibson guitars and Fender amps are a marriage made in Heaven", Silbersher's Les Paul and the Fender Twin amp seemed to be having a bit of a tiff.
Charlie Owens's use of a tone bar as a sustain tool was inspired! A 'tone bar' is a heavy, solid metal cylinder used as a slide by many lap steel players, but Owens used it as a weight to hold down a key on his keyboards while he was playing a lap steel guitar. It was whimsical and irreverent and lovely to see. It was like Keith Emerson's 'sustain dagger', but without the violence.
It was interesting to see two nylon string guitars on stage at such a show, and Paterson's fluent finger picking added an almost 'folk' feel to some of the songs. Perkins's right-hand technique is a little unusual though and reminded me of Wes Montgomery, but without the jazz.
It was a great show, and I believe the enthusiastic audience enjoyed it almost as much as the band did.
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