Bluesfest Melbourne

Live at The Plenary 8-9/4/23

After a couple of years of frustrating interruptions due to pandemics and weather, the folks at Bluesfest decided to run a simultaneous and paired back version of the festival in Melbourne in 2023. Located at Melbourne’s Convention Centre in the heart of the city, the festival featured 3 stages running music at staggered intervals, so punters could experience at least some of every performance if they chose to.

As far as the venue goes, Melbourne’s Convention Centre certainly had the goods as far as location and easy accessibility from one stage to another. The Plenary Theatre was a perfect location for bigger-known acts, and two other exhibition building spaces were decked out with a stage, limited seating at the back, and heavy black curtains to absorb the boomy sound that such cavernous rooms can elicit. It worked. The Convention Centre has a very ‘corporate’ feel about it, and the atmosphere and festival vibe could have been enhanced with a few small ‘busker-style’ areas in the concourse, as well as some festoon and wall lighting to create some mood. However, as far as hosting a Bluesfest in Melbourne goes, this was a solid first effort, that has the potential to grow a significant following. 

Rod Paine kicked off the Saturday afternoon on the Naarm stage, and Shaun Kirk shortly after on the Music City stage. When Mahalia Barnes & The Soul Mates took to the stage in the Plenary theatre the venue was in full swing, with non-stop music options for the rest of the night. Mahalia’s killer performance left the crowd buzzing and filled with expectation for a great weekend. She was on fire.

Russel Morris was understated as usual, and delighted the crowd with ‘The Real Thing’ which featured an insane guitar solo by Pete Robinson to finish the set with a bang.

John Butler opened his solo set on the Plenary stage with ‘Better Than’ to great applause. Quipping to the crowd that it was not a good idea to stay if we didn’t want to hear ‘swearing, or about politics, drugs, or the environment’, the warning was fair… his set could’ve been 4-songs longer without the rhetoric. However, the instrumental looped tunes with lap-steel were fantastic. True musicianship on show.

Competing for our ears in that same time slot were Southern Avenue, direct from Memphis, TN. These guys rocked the house. They performed twice in the weekend, on Saturday doing a number of soul/rock covers including Aretha’s ‘Rock Steady’, and on Sunday with more originals, the energy this 5-piece band brought was phenomenal (including Tierinii Jackson lead singing and high-energy dancing in 5 inch heels)!

Continuing to bring the energy were the massive Melbourne Ska Orchestra. These guys are pure fun from beginning to end. From messing with the audience with a ‘freeze pose’ competition, to playing a funk version of the ‘Get Smart theme’, their whole dynamic demanded participation, butt-shimmying, and a whole lot of grins. The crowd adored them.

Saturday night’s headliner were The Doobie Brothers. Extra tickets had to be purchased by punters if they wanted to see either of the weekend’s headliners (Paulo Nutini on Sunday night) as part of their Bluesfest experience. This caused headaches for both attendees and security, and this writer would advise no limitations on tickets for future Bluesfests.

The Doobie Brothers performed a massive set over 2 hours long, the first hour being their lesser-known tunes (not a great decision), with the odd audience member who wanted to dance being told to sit down. It was a strange vibe that was totally out of keeping with the rest of the festival – a bit of a staunch theatre show – until lead Tom Johnstone invited everyone to their feet, at which point the second half of the show was a pure celebration with dancing, singing, and all the greatest hits. The song of the set was ‘Jesus is just Alright’ due to the flawless vocal harmonies and full sound. Welcomed back for an encore, the exceptional Michael McDonald led a short instrumental of ‘Amazing Grace’ before kicking into ’Taking it to the Streets’, before the group welcomed back John Butler to join them for ’Listen to the Music’ for a big finish.

Enter Sunday: which felt a whole lot more genuine ‘blues’ than Saturday in Melbourne’s festival.

The afternoon began with Kee’ahn on the Naarm stage, for his second set of the weekend.

Steve Earle then drew the crowd to the Plenary theatre. The program advertised The Dukes as his band, but they were nowhere to be seen. It didn’t matter as Earle filled the massive room with his presence and captivated this writer with ‘[Mama says a pistol is] The Devil’s Right Hand’ as his song of the set. 

Lucinda Williams, looking frail but still with her distinctive vocal style, invited Earle (who delightfully calls her ‘Lulu’) back to perform a couple of songs with her later in the afternoon.

At the other venues, Eric Gales bluesed it up left-handed on his right-hand-strung guitar asking ’How can you love what I do but hate who I am?’ on the Music City stage, while Henry Wagons delighted the audience at the Naarm stage with his upbeat music, jokes about bain-maries, and tributes to Justin Townes Earle and Waylon Jennings.

FOOLS followed with their cool vibes. FOOLS are the Tedeschi Trucks of Melbourne… this 13 piece band fills the room with colour and blues rock. A particular treat for this writer was Jess Fisenden’s smooth gospel vocals, which were a great compliment to lead singer/songwriter Luke O’Connor.

Buddy Guy took to the stage in the Plenary and dropped into his classic ’Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues’ to great applause. Guy’s manner with the audience elicited infectious giggles throughout his show, with a segment beginning with him announcing he was going to ‘play something so funky you can smell it’, then attempting to play his guitar without hands, dragging his sleeve down the frets & flipping the guitar to shimmy it against his torso. He sure knows how to entertain.

On to CW Stoneking and his fabulous band. Always the entertainer, Stoneking had the crowd chuckling with his observations, and entertained with his New Orleans Street Jazz feel. This act never disappoints.

Sunday night’s headline was Paolo Nutini in the Plenary. This alternative soul performance was a feast for the senses, with a rotary phone and various other equipment being used to elicit new sounds and experiences for the audience. The theatre was pumping throughout.

Saved for a last mention, but performing earlier in the day on the Music City stage, was this writer’s performance of the festival: Keb’ Mo’. If anyone arrived at Bluesfest Melbourne looking for pure, unadulterated blues, Keb’ Mo’ brought it. Performing with a band for most of his set, but also solo for a couple of songs, he delivered blues in the traditional southern style. I could almost hear the chirping of crickets and imagine the rocking chair on a porch in sweltering heat. The stand-out tune for me was ’Suitcase’, a truly blues song that described the bitter-sweetness of life. Keb’ Mo’ was mesmerising as a performer and kept me spell-bound to the very end of his show.

Bluesfest Melbourne was a great success first year round. A few organisational tweaks and atmosphere enhancers for next year have the potential to make it a long-term triumph for the music business for years to come.

Words – Heather Packett

Photos – Lucas Packett

Sting Live at Rod Laver Arena

Live Review – 23rd Feb at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

As the crowds spilled in to Rod Laver Arena, they were anticipating a jolt back to their childhoods via a live soundtrack curated for reminiscing.

Sting’s ‘My Songs’ tour promised to give all the feels, and cover his most popular tunes, helping the mature feel young again.

As seats were being filled, we were entertained by Sting’s son, Joe Sumner, who opened his support act with ‘Looking for me, looking for you’ to great applause. The song of his set was ‘Jellybean’, which he wrote for his kids. The inclusion of this little ditty was just delightful. It transported us to Sumner’s living room where we could imagine delighted kids faces as he sang this song written just for them.

The set ended with a guest appearance by Paul Dempsey (of Something for Kate). Together Sumner and Dempsey performed ‘Hope’, adding texture to the set with two guitars and voices, and endearing Sumner to the crowd by including a local talent onstage.

Sumner can sing, and Sumner can play – there is no doubt about that. With a high tenor vocal range similar to his father, and a falsetto to die for (sheesh, it was great!) his vocal performance was truly impressive.

However the set itself was misplaced in the stadium context. A number of songs were played to tracks, which pointed out the glaringly obvious: this guy needs a band. And when he dropped the tracks and played solo guitar with voice, a band was required to make sense of the changes. He gave everything to the performance, and is clearly a talented singer and musician, but on his own he just simply could not fill the space.

Which, thankfully, is a stark contrast to his father.

Sting began with a bang performing three of his biggest hits first up: ‘Message in a Bottle’, ‘Englishman in New York’, and ‘Every Little Thing She Does’. The crowd were up and on their feet, singing along to a stadium-filling sound, and joining a band who clearly love what they do.

It’s been over a decade since Sting performed in Melbourne last, and in 2011 it was with the MSO. That concert was a far cry from this arena concert designed to entertain with hit after hit.

What stood out was Sting’s seemingly endless energy, and unceasing vocal strength. At 71 he shows no sign of slowing down. Playing bass and singing continually for almost two hours, then suggesting this is not the last time he’ll tour here (I believe him), what really amazed me was his vocal range at his current age. He very rarely took a lower melody route – as ageing performers often do – but rather chose to sing high vocal melodies to align with the expectations of the original. In fact Sting very rarely strayed from the expected version of each song, allowing his fans to freely sing along and feel a part of the performance.

After the first three songs he broke into a couple of newer tracks, acknowledging that people don’t like hearing new songs at gigs, but justifying their inclusion by adding, “You never know, they could end up being hits.”

Sting’s ability to move from massive stadium-engaging songs to intimate lounge-room vibes without alienating his crowd is impressive.  ‘The Shape of my Heart’ particularly, felt intimate and mellow, but still engaged and filled the room.

One minor disappointment was the letdown of the mix in a few different songs. ‘Desert Rose’ and ‘Fragile’ both rely on a female backing vocal that could barely be heard, in ‘Seven Days’ the acoustic guitar was inaudible, and the harmonica was often being played but rarely heard out front.

The tunes of the event for that reason were ‘Rushing Water’ and ‘Fields of Gold’, which both showcased tight and layered vocals, and exquisite solid-body acoustic guitar solos respectively. Both tunes imparted a haunting mood from stage to audience.

Experiencing this tour, it’s easy to see why Sting is so beloved this many years after The Police.

He is a true musician, with a unique emotive quality to his songs, and he performs them in a way that both respects and supersedes the original tunes, to the delight of the fans flocking decade after decade to see him.

An absolutely top-notch show.

Words: Heather Packett

Behind the Lens: Lucas Packett

Tropical Fuck Storm, Micheal Beach & Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice

The Forum

It’s a great feeling to be experiencing live music again, particularly in the beautiful surrounds of the regal Forum Theatre and particularly when its some of the exceptional talent this city has to offer.

Photo punks, Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice, kick off promptly, all decked out in custom designed orange overalls and blasted through most of their newly released album, ‘Remember The Future Vol 2 & 1’ to the appreciative small, but growing crowd.

Melbourne based artist Micheal Beach was soon to follow, complete with band giving us glimpse of tunes from his recent vinyl re-issue of ‘Gravity/Revulsion’.

TFS were warmly received as they entered the cavernous Forum stage to Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’. Opening with Braindrops and moving quickly into Chameleon Paint saw the seated crowd eager to move and engage with the music. Playing tunes mostly from ‘A laughing Death In Meatspace’ with a  a selection from other albums the night culminated with a rendition of ‘Stayin Alive’ as TFS were joined by the members of Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice & Micheal Beach.

So good to have live music back in the rock n’ roll capital.

Words & Photos – Lucas Packett