Review: Summersalt at Esplanade Park

Summersalt at Esplanade Park
Sunday, January 29, 2023

It seems concerts and festivals are well and truly back. This Sunday saw another big tour hit Perth with Summersalt, starring the legendary Ben Harper, Canada’s City and Colour, Aussie sibling darlings Angus & Julia Stone and more in the picturesque surrounds of The Esplanade surrounded by towering pine trees and a ferris wheel.

Ben Harper, playing second last and solo, stole the show, reminding of us his greatness, while City and Colour and Angus & Julia impressed with polished full band sets. The Summersalt tour criss-crosses the country, playing many dates, and they’d already gotten into the swing of things having played Canberra and Wollongong, the two previous nights.

It was a beautiful Freo day. Though with the temperature climbing to the high 30s, those rocking up early sweltered through the first few hours, seeking shade under the trees, until the ol’ Freo Doctor came through, bringing with it some welcome respite.

Immediately upon entrance through the gates, there was a great vibe in the air, with a good setup of facilities. It was a well-run event, easy to move around and access everything, and the BYO chair concept is a great idea. Not low chairs either, but proper-size fold out chairs were in abundance. And for the lucky premium ticket holders, there was a sectioned-off area in front of the stage with a seating area at the back and standing at the front.

At risk of sounding like an old bastard – an outdoor concert with one big stage and breaks in-between, instead of a multi-stage festival, running between bands, missing bits and losing friends, was a pleasant change.

Alex The Astronaut’s rise into the stratosphere continues, scoring the opening slot on another big tour that will see her popularity spread, as the likeable folky Aussie popster charmed the early crowd who braved the heat around 1pm, strumming through some of her hits like I Think You’re Great and the joyous Happy Song.

Middle Kids are an underrated, truly great band, and deserve all the success they get. They were another band that were well on the way up, at home and overseas, after the release of their second album, only to have their trajectory halted by covid. Hopefully they will pick up where they left off and continue their world-conquering form.

They impressed many today, as numbers started to swell. Stacking Chairs sounded great and they finished with Edge Of Town – a truly epic song that never fails to deliver when it takes off near the end, thanks to Hannah Joy’s soaring vocals and commanding stage presence. It was their first single, and is probably still their best. That’s not to say they don’t have a bunch of other great songs, more just that one is one of the best songs to come out of this country in the last 10 years, and it was a early highlight that got the crowd fired up.

The sound coulda been louder, but it was mixed well and had impact. There were no big video screens, which meant people watched the bands more, and they had to put on a show. In between bands, MC Fiona Cooper entertained the crowd, as well as providing information announcements and merch give-aways, while trying to incite some enthusiasm and excitement from the chill Freo crowd.

The Rubens were up next. A band that’s been around over 10 years now and become stalwarts of the scene with their smooth, accessible sounds. Though they showed their diversity with a broad set that got better as it went on.

Opener Muddy Evil Pain got things kicked off, but it was Live In Life off the same album (2021’s 0202) that really got things going, followed by Thank You, as Sam Margin starting getting more comfortable on the big stage, leaning into it with their early hit My Gun. He talked about how cool it was to be on tour with some of the greatest bands in the country and from around the world. “It’s a pretty good life we got going here at the moment,” he said, genuine and humble.

A great new song that featured a cool hook with the lyrics “red corolla, black balloon” was aired “off our new album coming out later this year.” “Fuck yeah, it feels good to play new stuff!” Margin exclaimed. Never a truer word spoken as all the musicians and bands out there know.

They jammed out Lay It Down, another early track and “the first song that got played on triple j for us,” as Margin explained. Million Man saw him jump into the crowd for a bit of a roam, and the perennial, Hottest 100 of 2015 topping Hoops! went down a treat, before they finished strongly with Masterpiece.

As great as The Rubens were, City and Colour came on next and raised the bar. Fronted by the man with the golden voice Dallas Green, who as fans would know, also co-founded post-hardcore luminaries Alexisonfire, who recently reformed and released a new album. While that band have a ferocious and fast punky screamo sound, City and Colour was a band Green formed as outlet for his more soft, emotional and melodic side.

He has a penchant for penning stunningly beautiful and sad songs, led by his acoustic guitar, powerful crystalline soulful voice, and backed by his band of bearded, cowboy-hatted men who brought some top-tier performance levels to proceedings.

“Most people think this is a sad song… but I don't think so,” he said by way of introducing the excruciatingly beautiful Waiting… Green was also in a reflective mood. “Those three years where I couldn't do what I'd worked my whole life to do… I'm eternally grateful to get to do what I do and travel to the other side of the world and play these songs for you people.” He finished with a couple of his best Lover Come Back and Sleeping Sickness, dedicated to Ben Harper. Though he omitted his very popular tune The Girl, much to the disappointment of some.

As it finally began to cool down a little, Ben Harper took to the stage. An Aussie favourite, it’s been many years since Harper’s been in town. Having released many, varied records over the years, and a new album recently, fans weren’t sure what to expect from Harper. But as he strolled out onto the empty stage with a few guitars and took a seat, it became quickly evident we’d be getting treated to a rare semi-acoustic solo Ben Harper show.

After taking his time with an acoustic picking intro to get settled and ensure the sound was right, he started working his way through some songs and it became apparent he would be indulging us with a stellar setlist of mostly older classics.

She's Only Happy In The Sun seemed poignant. Giving Up Your Ghost gave Harper a chance to show off his amazing Weissenborn slide guitar. It was so incredible to see Harper solo after all these years, just doing his thing, it's easy to forget the man is a virtuoso on the lap slide guitar.

He dedicated the next song to Heath Ledger, telling the story of how they met in Fremantle and became good friends, and how Heath had a large, positive impact on his life. “I wouldn't want to leave the stage without mentioning my love for him and his family,” he said touchingly, before a beautiful rendition of Morning Yearning.

He also told the wonderful story of partying with Heath all night one time, playing songs on an old grand piano, and then he awoke to find a courier delivering the same piano! A gift from Heath.

Harper is so sincere and heartwarming. He is 200% better enjoyed live. He just has a Presence and a Voice, and likes to make songs sound unique each time. “This is the first outdoor gig I've played that has felt like I’m playing in my living room!” he said. And indeed it did. A perfect night for it.

“The world has changed a lot since I wrote this one, but I still enjoy playing it,” he said before launching into his classic Burn One Down. He surprised us with an awesome slow, acoustic version of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark. And a solo version of Diamonds on the Inside also sounded resplendent.

All alone on stage with his guitars, he captured the audience and had them under his spell, and his set seemed to finish way too soon with the swampy, blues vibe of Trust You To Dig My Grave and the majestic Waiting On An Angel.

And then it was up to Angus & Julia Stone to finish the night off with a bang, and they kicked things straight off with the sweet duet Snow off their 2017 album of the same name. It sounded great, but the volume seemed to have dropped and lost some of the impact.

They pulled out a surprising cover of The Go-Betweens’ Streets of Your Town, and dug out all sorts of crowd-pleasing gems from their storied back catalogue – they had a big crowd standing near the front, swaying and dancing with Stay With Me and Nothing Else, which saw the band kick things up a notch, and unveiled a pretty trippy psychedelic wolf backdrop, as the sun set behind them, illuminating the sky in vivid shades of pink and purple.

Angus told the story of him and Julia drifting apart and not communicating for a couple years, and how it took a good friend, a special person, to bring them back together – which resulted in them creating one of their best records, working closer together than ever before.

Then Julia told a story about how she once wrote a song for an old lover at the Esplanade Hotel across the road one time, and sent it to him – though he didn’t take kindly to the lyrics and sentiment. She also gushed about how cool it’s been to play this tour, especially with Ben Harper. She said the first song Angus taught her how to play was Ben Harper’s Walk Alone.

Big Jet Plane had to make the obligatory appearance, while Dope Lemon’s Uptown Folks made a welcome, surprise appearance before Chateau provided a great finale.

The first Summersalt to incorporate international acts, this was a truly wonderful day in every way.

ALFRED GORMAN