Richard Clapton – A Summer Essential

A Richard Clapton show can be a bit of a lottery. He’s got a superb repertoire of songs matched by only a few contemporary songwriters in Australia and so the potential is always there for a memorable show. He’s a great singer and usually has a rock solid and often inspired band behind him.

But he can be a moody ol’ bastard and sometimes he gives the impression that there’s somewhere else he would rather be. But even on those shows where he gets the shits with the sound, with the audience, with the venue and with himself can be entertaining because ‘Ralph’ is not one to hide his feelings.

On the good nights though he can be transcendent – when songs such as the glorious Goodbye Tiger, the driving I Am An Island, Deep Water, Lucky Country and Get Back To The Shelter are nailed on one night a brilliant concert is guaranteed. And given the subject matter of his songs there’s something special about seeing Clapton in the Australian summer, preferably in a coastal location.

Richard Clapton has an interesting series of shows lined up in the early New Year, including a number of shows where he is sharing the bill with Jackson Browne.

There’s a couple that maybe have potential for things to go wrong too….maybe they will be the ones to see!

Fri Jan 02       Mundaring Weir, Perth, WA
Sat Jan 03      Wignalls Wineries, Albany, WA
Fri Jan 23       Shoppingtown Hotel Doncaster
Sat Jan 24      Capers
Sun Jan 25     Barwon Heads hotel
Mon jan 26    Spiegeltent Melbourne Open Tennis
Sun Feb 15    Victoria Park, Perth, WA
Fri Feb 27      Riverstage with Jackson Browne , Brisbane ,QLD
Sat Feb 28     Tempus Two Winery with Jackson Browne ,Hunter Valley,NSW
Sat Mar 07     Sutton Grange Winery with Jackson Browne, Sutton Grange,VIC
Tue Mar 10    Entertainment Centre with Jackson Browne,Townsville, QLD
Wed Mar 11   Convention Centre with Jackson Browne ,Cairns,QLD
Fri Mar 13      Lizottes, Kincumber, NSW
Sat Mar 14     Lizottes, Kincumber, NSW

Review – A Day On The Green – Oz Rock Legends

A Day On The Green has had a couple of weather issues in Victoria this year with John Mellencamp’s Rochford concert already having been abandoned before it started. Dark clouds greeted fans rolling up for last weekends Oz Rock legends concert and Hey Hey My My’s Andrew Rutter was amongst them.

The 20th A Day on the Green concert was kicked off in fine style by Melbourne three-piece Even who rolled out material from the past 14 years with an emphasis on tracks from their recent release including  I Am the One, I Walk On and the brilliant Keep On Burning. Alongside  The Panics’ Cruel Guards and Nick Caves’ Dig Lazarus Dig, Even’s album would be in my top three Aussie releases over the past year.

Next up was the familiar figure of Richard Clapton. With VB in hand, Clapton serenaded the crowd with his timeless slices of Australiana such as Deep Water and Glory Road before Distant Thunder appropriately ushered in a torrential downpour transforming Rochford Winery into a scene reminiscent of Woodstock.  Clapton, who may well have personal flashbacks to the aforementioned Woodstock, was undeterred and finished with an incendiary version of  I Am An Island.

After a DJ set of well selected ‘rain’ songs Mark Seymour backed by an awesome band played a blistering set, opening with the excellent title track off the album Westgate, Other offerings from that album included  Jerusalem and Love is a Heavy Load but the best crowd response was reserved for classics such as Throw Your Arms Around Me, Say Goodbye and When the River Runs Dry. Seymour finished with the song that has paid the rent for the past 16 years via its adoption as an unofficial sports anthem Holy Grail.

After a another stormy interlude and a delay caused (mysteriously) by “ Doc coming straight from hospital!!”, The Angels hit the stage around dusk opening very appropriately with After the Rain and proceeded to wind back the clock with the legendary Take a Long Line and Marseilles. Shadow Boxer had the crowd punching the air in delight, while Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again drew the predictable but no less entertaining response from the crowd. After enduring some less memorable tracks such as We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place and Dogs Are Talking the set stampeded to a conclusion with No Secrets and the cracking Comin Down.

Topping off the day in fine style, the Hoodoo Gurus rolled out the songs that have made them one of Australia’s great party bands. Most memorable were I Was A Kamikaze Pilot, Bittersweet, Like Wow-Wipeout, My Girl, What’s My Scene, Come Anytime, The Right Time, I Want You Back and 1000 Miles Away. That list says it all really – after all that you realize they do have an impressive discography of undeniably fun-time songs.

Damp, pissed and hoarse from sing-a-longs we tramped to the mini-van for post-match reviews. All were in favour that Even were great, Clapton was ok, Seymour was fabulous, the Guru’s great fun but the Best On Ground belonged to Doc Neeson and his Angels.