ed kuepper and the kowalski collective

dream come true stuff really
i had been planning an extended overseas excursion since july
but when i had heard the mr k was due in town complete with a brass section
the trip got postponed till the day after this show
that meant i had a few preparations and farewells to deal with pre-show
which meant i got to the venue with the band already (just) on stage
the basement was surprisingly not packed to the rafters
so i squirmed my way into the usual spot centred in front of the bar
took a few deep breaths and then surveyed that which was laid out before me
a bespectacled ed kuepper guitar-slinging it centre stage
to his right the imposing gentle giant of peter oxley on bass
right again to an unrecognised lady on keyboards and cello
a very sharp looking jeffery wegener on drums at rear of stage
and the big highlight of a brass section comprising sax, trumpet and trombone stage left
my feeling is that mr k has been working up to this occasion for some time
over the past year or 2 he has worked with messrs wegener and oxley
each show i have seen of the 3 piece has been a musical treat
the last one i saw again at the basement had me sliding off the back wall
it was a fearsome sound that completely defied the word subtle
where to from here i remember thinking to myself
i'd heard rumours of a saints revival so held out hope for the return of the clowns
not that i ever saw them in original form but my ear has now turned in their direction
aided by the 3cd remastered anthology of clowns material
and more recently some exposure to similarly filthy and noisy brass based music
so yes this night had the makings of a very special musical occasion
it wasn't too long before i was enamoured of the sound coming from the stage
as the band worked it's way through some classic kuepper tunes
culminating in a glorious rendition of eternally yours
this tune knows no boundaries and it's master seems to have an endless stream of arrangement ideas
tonight would have been the closest i could ever had heard it to it's original clowns form
but it still sounds as contemporary as anything you will hear anywhere
this marked the end of the first set and the opportunity to re-locate
spotted an empty table (huh?) directly under the position of the brass section
settled in and waited in anticipation of the second set
apart from working in a new lineup mr k has been writing some new material
and the promise was of a full run-through of the new album in this set
so upon return to the stage we were introduced to hang jean lee
i must admit from that point on i lost track of the tunes and titles
all i know was i sat there utterly gobsmacked at the intensity of the sound coming my way
ed looking completely in control and totally detached and absorbed
he has put together a band that surely must now be close to his perfection
jeffery wegener seems to be his musical muse as they lock in frequently
peter oxley plays a fluid bass that by demand is all over the place
the touch of keyboards and especially cello add a richness to the music
and the boys on brass (sorry - unidentified) come and go expertly
there was one moment where ed was head-on, face-down to the blasting brass
i was as close as i could get but could only imagine the satisfaction ed must have been enjoying
knowing that at least musically all is good in his world
this is all going to sound very sycophantic but this is my truth
i sat there thinking if someone tapped me on the shoulder right now
and said these are the gates of heaven - come on through i would have gone
but then something quite unbelievably surreal happened
a smiling lindy morrison caught my eye and sat down to my front left
and from then on i watched a member of another iconic australian band
looking on in obvious admiration at what was happening in front of her
proving to me that mr k is the musician's musician
just now have to wake up the rest of the world
absolutely, stunningly, brilliantly, mind-numbingly stupefying
the homebake crowd won't know what hit them
i'm coming back for that
bye