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:The Woolshed Sessions – 19 July (7pm), Downstage Theatre
The creative octuplet that is The Woolshed Sessions
merged their artistic talents once again to perform to an adoring
Wellington audience last Sunday night, as part of Downstage Theatre’s
new monthly music night.
The Woolshed Sessions, the band and the debut album, was a summertime
project that saw eight talented Wellington musicians descend on an old
woolshed in the Takaka Valley to record an album over four days.
Since the release of this album in October 2008, the band has
established a reputation for recreating the natural and impromptu vibe
of the woolshed experience to a live audience… no mean feat, given that
they have performed to hundreds at the Botanical Gardens, the Cuba
Street Carnival and the Neudorf Winery in Nelson…
Their appeal clearly hasn’t diminished since their sell-out album
release gigs at the BATS Theatre last year, as they have recently
completed a successful mini-tour of the North Island and tickets to
this show was in such high demand that a matinee performance had to be
scheduled as well…. phwoah.
The theatre was dim and clouded by a smoky haze of dry-ice as I took my
seat just after seven. The smoke caught the blue hues that were
glowing from the stage-lights and danced on the metallic-gleam of the
microphone stands. This somewhat eerie stage was framed by a
couple of solid, wooden pallets and an upright-piano, a perfect setting
for the intimate performance that was set to unfold.
It wasn’t long before Justin Firefly Clarke silently sat at the upright
piano and Al Fraser delicately blew a Pūkaeā (large wooden trumpet)
onto the piano’s exposed strings to produce chilling vibrations that
echoed through the packed theatre. This was an appropriate
beginning as traditionally the pūkaeā was used to welcome people and
announce events or occasions of importance… ahem… it was also used as a
war trumpet, but I’m sure this wasn’t the case on Sunday night.
With this completed, the remaining six members took their sets and
donned their various instruments. The first sound to be heard was
the reluctant solo-finger-plucks of Jess Chambers’ guitar strings as she
launched into the sultry
Only Your Arms. Chambers’ voice was
hesitantly tender and accompanied only by a distant drum-beat from
Brett Skinner and the gentle wang of Lee Prebble’s lap steel
guitar. The ballad slowly gained momentum and reached its peak
with an enchanting five-part harmony courtesy of Age Pryor, Andy
Hummel, Clarke and Fraser on backing vocals, absolutely beautiful.
These captivating harmonies, together with intelligent and very
impressive guitar-play, set the scene for the two hour set, which saw
the band’s songwriters take turns performing their material, capturing
tunes from their debut album,
Stringing me Along, Babycakes and
Waterfall, as well as a couple of new numbers, such as
Full of Fire,
Please and Clarke’s sea shanty
Serve the Waves.
Their set was tight and incredibly enjoyable, peppered with informal
banter and a touch of audience heckling. It was humbling to
witness eight of Wellington’s finest musicians perform collectively on
the live stage.
- Karyn Cushen
Posted Thursday, July 23, 2009 9:09 AM
- Tagged as: review, live, music, gig, live music, Downstage
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