all tomorrows parties - part of the sydney festival 2009
jump on a ferry and head to cockatoo island for a day of music
a list of artists hand-picked by nice cave and the bad seeds themselves
one act in particular of great personal interest and tipping the balance
if not for them then i would have stayed away - but more of that later
first act for me for the day was one of the bad seeds - conway savage
he's playing on the barracks stage at one end of the island
the opposite end to which i had found myself after disembarking
and so an excuse to go for a wander and take a first-hand look
past the second stage and a performance sounding out of place
goth-rock-female-guitarist-earnest-noisemaking stuff in broad daylight
not too much appealing to me at this time so quickly onwards
and upwards to the barracks stage at a high point by the mess hall
a small crowd gathered and seated in the small area available
a sense of anticipation that suggested greatness was imminent
then the man himself is seated at his electric piano
accompanied by fellow man on guitar and lady on other keyboards
and a wind added to the mix as gusts catch the mics and the hair
we're trying for a gentle, melodic, slow hot sunny afternoon feel
and basically pulls it off and then the demands are laid out
he's expecting to be handed a joint by the end of the set
and assuring us he's quite serious about this - of which there is no doubt
the pace picks up on the next tune and things are sounding kind of nice
but not good enough for one couple seen standing and departing
who are then subjected to a grilling from the main man
where are you going you c###s - typical - sydney people
laughs all round and on with the show and some more originals
more gently played and well rehearsed tunes from the trio
soft-rock-alternative-blues-country-fusion-protest...stuff
all quite pleasant really especially with a swap to accordian
amanda lee demonstrating her comfort and skill with this instrument
conway savage reminding us of his main job as a bad seed
and then causing the really big dropping of a really big penny
couldn't help but think this man likes being in the shadow
a long period of dedicated service to the cave man has rubbed off
some lyrics and choruses in particular sounded just too seed-y
but in the end this is not a bad thing - and probably why he is here
there was no doubt on this day he had good number of fans present
though i did leave wondering if his music would stand on its own
but i suspect not - better keep the night job conway
a final plug for that show due later on this day.....
