Abbe May’s Clam Jam @ Chevron Gardens (for Perth Festival)
w/ Thelma Plum, Sex Panther, Mojo Juju, Carla Geneve
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
A hot Valentine’s Day eased into a warm night making it perfect conditions for a Clam Jam, a mini festival celebrating women in music at Chevron Gardens. It was a night all about the ladies with a massive, all-female showcase curated by Perth’s local rock legend, Abbe May.
The ARIA nominated and WAMAward winning songstress came out blazing with fresh material from her new record Fruit which was released earlier this month. Given it is her first in five years since 2013’s Kiss My Apocalypse, you could tell she was itching to get this record out and into peoples ears.
With the raw and soulful backing chops of another supremely talented Perth singer-songwriter Odette Mercy (of The Soul Atomics) backing her up, May took control of the stage with undeniable passion for her new material (arguably her best to date). Given the day, there were definite love vibes throughout the set, which was fitting as it is a strong theme played out over the new record on tracks Love Decline, Tinderella, Make Love Not Sense, Shake Your Thing and Are We Flirting?
As a mini festival Clam Jam displayed a true dissection of multi talented female performers from right across Australia. Indigenous singer songwriter Thelma Plum showed why she has deservedly amassed such a strong fanbase over the last few years with amazing renditions of crowd favourites How Much Does Your Love Cost? and Rosie, providing a top support on the bill with an eclectically smooth mix of folk and RnB.
Recently reformed Perth indie-rock legends Sex Panther proved to have been sorely missed, tearing through a majestic, hard hitting and explosive rock performance. Lead vocalist Storm Wyness’ delivery and presence, clad in a gorgeous full length leopard printed gown was pure punk sass as she exclaimed, “I know it’s Valentine’s Day, but we’re sorry, we don’t have any love songs.”
Melbourne based Mojo Juju was unmatched in sheer coolness with her stripped down, soul steeped delivery. She was commanding, yet graceful, a mesmerising talent which truly left me wishing for more.
Carla Geneve, a local WA star on the rise rounded off Perth’s all female festival. Hailing from Albany and equipped with an acoustic guitar and sturdy, grunge inspired vocals, the talented songstress filled the early evening on the Gardens Stage with harmonic bluesy tales about life in the South West. Definitely one to keep an eye on!
Abbe May’s Clam Jam for Perth Festival moved effortlessly from slow love-longing ballads, to funky soul, to sheer rock and roll, making it a perfect storm of exceptional talent celebrating the brilliance, depth, range and artistry of women in the Australian music industry.
ZAC NICHOLS
