Review: Henry Wagons at Milk Bar

Henry Wagons at Milk Bar
w/ Leroy MacQueen
Saturday, March 4, 2023

Henry Wagons’ gallivanting first post-pandemic tour came to a finale at Inglewood’s Milk Bar on Saturday night. The national tour for his new album, South of Everywhere, has enthralled audiences across Australia with high octane performances, country ballads, comedic stories and a few nods of the hat to “The Boss” (Bruce Springsteen).

In Wagons’ third solo album, fans see the cosmic country astronaut return to Earth and get real with his Australian country-music roots. An album inspired by outlaw country greats, South of Everywhere presents a record erupting in captivating stories of the places and people Henry has encountered while on the road, as well as sharing some unique insight into his life. The resulting sound is undeniably country with a hint of rebel, and packed full of electric energy and enthusiasm that flows through his fans in attendance.

The crowd were fantastically warmed up by support act Leroy MacQueen. A self-described “alt-western crooner from Melbourne,” Leroy’s enigmatic stage presence and Roy Orbison-inspired ballads prepared the crowd for a night of country entertainment. With regular audience interaction, comedic song breaks and personal revelations, Leroy did an excellent job in priming the crowd for the main event.

Opening with I Don’t Know When It Is I’m Gonna Die, an introspective ballad reflecting on the uncertainty in life, Henry Wagons was welcomed to the stage with cheers, shouts and whistles from the audience. Wagons and supporting musician Lachlan Bryan hurtled fans through country adrenaline, at one point switching roles on stage which saw Henry on the keyboard and Bryan on the guitar and mic. (Don’t Be) Down And Out had nearly every toe tapping in the venue, with die-hard fans crowding the stage. The track, inspired by Melbourne’s lockdown, is about lifting your spirits in times of adversity.

Felix Granger The Finger Pickin’ Boy got fans moving and cheering. Wagons said the track was inspired by lead guitarists, and an experience he had while on tour in Tasmania, in a town called Dover, which Henry sings “is a town south of everywhere I know.” A track that would make Johnny Cash proud, it was warmly greeted by fans. I Cooked You A Meal had fans laughing at the comedic wit and melody in the song.

Wagons’ interaction with the audience was the standout of the night. Frequently leaping down into the crowd and striding through them while singing, Wagons picked audience members out at random, dropping them into parts of his song and cracking jokes. “It feels like I’m performing a gig in my living room, I’ve never seen sofas so close to the stage before,” Henry joked at the set-up of the venue (later dedicating part of a song to the “ladies on the sofa”).

Wagons informed the crowd that himself and accompanying musician Lachlan Bryan bonded over their love of Warren Zevon’s song writing, and proceeded to perform a cover of his song Werewolves Of London, in which he managed to get everyone inside the Milk Bar howling like a wolf in the chorus.

Wagons was cheered on for an encore and concluded the night and his tour with his hit track Tower of Song, which is also the title of his Double J radio show in which he explores emerging outlaws and influential song-masters. Fans of Henry Wagons were treated to a country music spectacle of awesome scale at the Milk Bar, and Wagons brought his South of Everywhere tour to a triumphant and celebrated end.

BENEDICT SHIRLEY