I seriously cacked my dacks when I first found about this birthday party (that of one of Australia’s best labels, Spunk), mostly because of the outrageously great lineup, but also because of the locale: a small community hall in a place called Bangalow, very much in the middle of nowhere on the east coast of Australia. The previous few weeks were filled with rumors that The Arcade Fire may be the ‘secret guest’ (hey, they’ve never come to Australia before!), but it turns out it was just Joanna Newsom, whom I guess I can deal with (actually I cacked my dacks a second time when I heard this). As I looked out from the back of the full scout hall, it was clear my enthusiasm was shared by most of the audience, all sunburnt backs and tight-jeaned legs crossed.
She is joined by her YYYs Street Band, and that’s probably why I didn’t recognize many of the songs at first (I hadn’t listened to Ys as much as her previous material). Her whimsy and mythology are matched by the similarly wondrous and quaint venue, dimly lit in rosey red tones, smattered with fairy lights. The place was completely hushed for her set, aside from when she announced they were going to play a brand new song, one that had never been played live before. We felt spoiled, and rightly so; this new stuff seems just as great as we’d hoped. Newsom plucked the harp with fervor and glee, filling the balmy night with just what it needed.
I’m not sure if it was just because I had seen Andrew Bird twice last year in quick succession, but he was relatively boring in between these other acts. Like last time, it was just him, no band, unfortunately, as the person next to me mentioned his show works much better when he is flanked by a couple of other whizzes. He’s got the delay pedal skills down to an absurd precision on his own, but a lot of the time it tends too far toward the insular; the way the songs unfold and buildup is often samey. I shouldn’t rag on his set, though; it was good, and his style is distinctive, his violin layers built upon by whistling, vocals, tapes of violin, and twitches of the head; his classic indie voice mixed with, uh, classical elements. It’s masterful, for sure, and basically everyone seemed engaged and mostly enthralled by these mystical pedal abilities and curious sounds.
Perhaps Andrew Bird made me snooze a little because my heart that night belonged to Jens Lekman. The swede was up next, armed with a guitar, a backing tape, and a white cotton shirt -- on it, a huge embroided flower and his heart on his sleeve, of course. He’s the cheesiest guy around, and it’s not just because he’s Swedish. Tonight, Jens is also astoundingly funny, bracketing the songs that everyone seems to know (from his past two albums) with hilarious stories and anecdotes detailing the background of the songs, which are undeniably sincere and real. The two local musicians on cello and violin who join him this evening don’t play very often, and halfway through are off the stage, so the backing tape fleshs out tracks like “You Are The Light” and “Maple Leaves.” His take on the live show is entertaining, like a good show should be, even if a few of the songs are much better on record.
Spoon serves as a terrific band to close down the night, playing a set filled with so much more enjoyment and energy than what I had seen from them the previous day at Australia’s huge and mainstream Big Day Out festival. They started off with the first two tracks from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, the second of which, "The Ghost of You Lingers," is one of the best setup songs of all time. Theirs is an obviously quite subtle and refined sort of indie rock, and these decisions seem to really matter. After playing a couple more from the new album, Spoon finish off with a smattering of older "hits" for a particularly electrified set. I still think they’re much better as a studio band than a live band, but on an evening filled with such a special and friendly atmosphere, it was really something.
