Chevron Festival Gardens
Friday, February 14, 2014
44th Sunset were probably a little nonplussed when they started up their support slot at the Chevron Festival Gardens. Was everyone up at Belvoir Amphitheatre to see The National? Was everyone out at a restaurant with their sweetheart, it being Valentine’s Day and all?
For most of the set it was pretty slim pickings, crowd-wise, for 44th Sunset, but they got on with it and by the end of their set a healthy, loved-up bunch gathered just in time to hear the triple j favoured Hey Caesar and a final lilting solo turn by vocalist/guitarist Nik Thompson, giving it up for the Valentines in the audience. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Yes, love was in the air when Husky took to the stage. Every sight and every sound. Vocalist/guitarist, Husky Gawenda, has that same friendly warm hug nature that makes Angus & Julia Stone so endearing to their fans. His banter with Perth-raised bassist Ewan Teedes was good-natured in a way that depicts perhaps why they’re winning over audiences across the US and Europe.
The songs are made to sway to, from Dark Sea to Tidal Wave, it’s all very flowing indeed. Gideon Preiss’ keyboard intro to Dark Woods was a tasteful entre to a beatific song. Throughout the band’s four-part harmonies soared to the cupids in the clouds, but the darker edge to a song finished only that morning seems to pave the way for an all the more engaging setlist. A twist, if you will.
Date night was going well. And as the band surrounded one microphone for an acoustic rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Lover Come Back one got the feeling that the band’s relationship with its Perth had only gotten stronger. Spontaneous proposals seemed a distinct possibility.
BOB GORDON
