Review: Julia Jacklin at The Rechabite

Julia Jacklin at The Rechabite
w/ Mimi Gilbert
Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Julia Jacklin returned to Perth for the first time since March 2020 on Tuesday for the first of two nights as part of Perth Festival 2023. Having recently just finished successful tours of Europe and the US, as well as Laneway Festival gigs along the east coast, Jacklin and band were in fantastic form, with her reflective and melancholy-tinged tracks fitting the splendid surrounds of The Rechabite Hall like hand in glove.

The night opened with a performance from American-born, Melbourne-based, singer-songwriter Mimi Gilbert. Gilbert, who is also a member of Jacklin’s band, won many new fans with her folky-guitar and emotional lyricism, reflected by the large crowd that gathered to watch her set.

Highlights included new song, Police Checks, with its heart–aching refrain of “who am I without you?,” Grew Inside The Water which shone with its honesty, and set closer Ireland Song in which Gilbert seamlessly worked across her fret board as her voice soared with tenderness and emotion.

After a short break, Julia Jacklin and her five-piece band came on stage to rapturous applause, launching into Hay Plain, from her 2016 debut, before swiftly moving onto to Perth, before the border closes.

Stopping to introduce Pool Party as a song “about swimming. And guilt. And sadness,” Jacklin next put down her guitar to sing the poppier number Love, Try Not To Let Go which was greeted warmly by the crowd with its Pixies-esque dynamics.

Moviegoer off 2022's Pre-Pleasure was next, before the haunting melancholy of Body from 2019's Crushing had many grooving along with its lilting vocals and persistent snare.

Stopping to introduce the band, Will Kidman on guitar, Jennifer Aslett on guitars and keys, Mimi Gilbert on bass, and Laurie Torres on drums, Jacklin had the crowd smiling by announcing that Torres had a Passiona today. And she liked it.

The infrequently played Turn Me Down came next and was an absolute show-stopper, with Jacklin’s plaintive a cappella pleas of “so please just turn me down, Oh please just turn me down” ringing throughout the space. Similarly, Jacklin's vocals stopped everyone in their tracks with crowd favourite Don't Know How To Keep Loving You.

Jacklin took her guitar off for the second time in the set before stating “this one is about attending St Thomas Aquinas Primary School in New South Wales” as the electronic drum intro of Lydia Wears A Cross began to a roar of approval from the crowd.

Her rapport with the audience now fully cemented, Jacklin once again thanked the crowd for being so nice. Not one to dwell too much on the happier side of things though, she quickly added, “it has to end sometime though, don’t you have work tomorrow?” referencing the school-night gig. 

Next up was the rocking I Was Neon which was followed by a majestic one-two punch of sad indie-pop songs of Head Alone and Pressure to Party that sunk deep into the hearts of the emotionally engaged audience that were clinging onto Jacklin’s every lyric.

Following a brief exit from stage, Jacklin returned to the stage without her band. Saying she didn’t have any sort of encore prepared, and then chastising herself for saying thank you too many times (she genuinely seemed rapt to be as lauded as she had been by the audience), she launched into the now classic Don’t Let The Kids Win. 

By the show's end, it was clear that the audience had made an impact on Jacklin, and the same was vice versa. And the pleasure was all ours.

MICHAEL HOLLICK

Photos by Sophie Minissale