Review: Tim Rogers and The Twin Set at Freo.Social

Tim Rogers and The Twin Set at Freo.Social
w/ Cecelia
Sunday, March 5, 2023

Amongst the many great albums Tim Rogers has written, primarily with Aussie legends You Am I, a fan favourite has always been 1999’s What Rhymes With Cars And Girls – the first of his ‘solo’ albums away from his main band, a beautiful, warm, acoustic, country-tinged record, made on the side with The Twin Set band, in the year following the release of You Am I’s fourth consecutive hugely successful album, #4 Record in 1998. At the time it seemed Rogers could do no wrong, churning out classic albums seemingly effortlessly. While his albums always included a few more acoustic style songs, this album was quite a departure – he decided it was time to put down the electric guitar, stop the windmills for a bit, and pen a few sentimental ditties about his life and times, with a fiddle and squeezebox band.

Having gone through a breakup, the songs were emotional, yet witty and unmistakably Australian vignettes, up there with the best of Rogers’ repertoire; the album in fact won him another ARIA. The songs were never played much live after that one album tour, apart from random odd gig. Then, in 2015, Rogers helped create a stage play version of the album with the sadly, now late Melbourne playwright Aidan Fennessey, so vivid and full of life were the songs and characters. He first had the idea to write a sequel to What Rhymes With Cars And Girls when he was watching the play, but it wasn’t till more recently he thought about it again, and started writing songs that were sort of responses to the songs on the first album, which he wrote when he was 28.

So he got in touch with the talented multi-instrumentalist and producer Jen Anderson (an Aussie legend who’s played with The Black Sorrows, Weddings Parties Anything and Archie Roach), who was an instrumental part of the first album, and played violin, as well as produced the album in her home studio. He floated the idea of a follow-up with Jen, and his right-hand man, You Am I guitarist, Davey Lane, who also played on the first record, and had just joined You Am I. They got together with a different rhythm section, drummer Jeff Consi and double-bassist Richard Bradbeer, and started playing around the with the songs, which were deeply personal to Tim, and could feel something was there.

Rogers worked hard on the concept of every new song, having its complementary counterpart on the first album – with the song titles even being references to the first album songs. They’re songs about where he is now in life, and hence very different to the first lot, a comparative snapshot. He also managed to come up with an inspired title for the new album, one that does indeed rhyme with cars and girls – Tines Of Stars Unfurled. After playing some shows over east last year, the album release tour found its way to Freo.Social last Sunday, after a show in Bunbury, and it was a wonderful opportunity to hear not only the new songs, but those old Twin Set classics again.

In support for the night was Cecilia, who did a great job warming up the room, who were all still seated with the cocktail table setup around the perimeter of the dancefloor, which left an empty semi-circle up the front, which she slowly coaxed a few people up and into.

The ex-Byron Bay, Perth-based singer songwriter has a sweet but strong voice, and pens a nice melody. She was accompanied by her sibling Monty, who provided great harmonies and violin. There were some lush, pitch-perfect moments. Later on they were joined by a second guitarist, who helped add some more layers, and some well executed three-way harmonies on a couple of bigger sounding tracks to finish.

After a short break, the lights dimmed and Tim Rogers and the Twin Set took the stage, Rogers looking resplendent in an amazing, chest-bearing, red cowboy suit, with equally amazing boots and a wide-brimmed hat. The man really does have an incredible wardrobe, and he pulls off the flamboyant country rocker look with ease.

They warmed up with an amusing, and perhaps a tad foreshadowing, take on the Fawlty Towers theme, before the warm sounds of Anderson's violin filled the room on Bushell and a Peck, the opening instrumental track from What Rhymes With Cars And Girls. A perfect little intro for the band, who sounded great on the Freo.Social stage.

Been So Good, So Far was the first single from the new album, and a response to You’ve Been So Good To Me So Far. It immediately sets the tone of the album, and the set, with its theme of aging and reflection, in contrast to the youthful tone of its 1999 counterpart, “How’s about our friends, I know some have died. Most say they’re OK, I know some are lying.”

Rogers' voice is sadly a bit shot these days, and for some shows it’s in good form, while others it cracks as he strains with some notes. As he put it “If you live the life then you can't sing the notes that denote the life.” Tonight he started off a bit rough, but got better as he went on. His charisma, delivery and band got him through.

Rogers lost his father not long ago, and the new song Quiet Anniversary written about “my dear dead father” was his way of processing it, in stark contrast to Happy Anniversary on the first record. Staying on the family tip, he dedicated the next song to his daughter and “the coolest person of all time.” Twenty Two, is the complementary song to Twenty Eight, which was Rogers' age when he wrote it. Now he has a 22 year old daughter. “You’re 22, you know what to do. Just get on out there” is his advice to his daughter who lives in NYC, who he’s starting to establish a closer relationship with.

Arse Kickin' Lady From the Northwest from What Rhymes With Cars And Girls was welcomed by the crowd and delivered with appropriately solid gusto. It was a nice mix, dancing between the old and new songs.

Left My Heart In a Country Church Hall is a more sombre number from the new album, but Rogers knows how to lighten the mood “This song, takes you to an AA meeting in Albury-Wodonga… Sorry if you've just dropped a pinger, cos it's gonna be all downhill from here!”

While a classic track from the first album was I Live Under The Flight Path, Rogers now lives near a train station, so he wrote a song called I Live Near A Train Station. In one of his piss-taking storytelling moods, he told us how he never actually lived under a flight path, “Jen and I were just doing a lot of psychedelics at the time, and thought planes were flying overhead all the time. Now we do a lot of heroin, so it’s more trains. Is that how you remember it Jen?” he quipped. “Ahh not really Tim,” she calmly retorted, the straight foil to his twisted lead.

At one point he thanked us for coming to support them on this tour, saying how they all work hard and have other jobs too. “Richard the bass player for example is a pornographic actor, with an amazing penis.” At another point he talked about the love in the room, and that when we go home tonight with our partners and make love… he wants us to think about the band when we ejaculate, drawing equal laughs and groans from the amused crowd.

“Anyway, here’s some more songs of misery for your enjoyment!” he proclaimed, moving on. They paired up the two complementary songs, Get High, Support the Band from the new album, with Hi, We're the Support Band from the first – am honest tale of the thankless job of touring as a support band, with classic lines like “The local PA guys a dipshit, keeps calling us all convicts” and “Hi, we’re the support band, we’re not the ones you know.”

Tim was in odd sorts tonight though, as while there were moments of his trademark humour and wit, there were moments where he seemed genuinely emotional and fragile when he tried to talk in-between songs. It seems these more personal songs, new and old, dig up feeling deep within. The red wine he was swigging and the show down south the night before might not have helped either. But for those who’ve read his autobiography, it’s known Rogers has had his fair share of struggles. This album seems to have been cathartic for him, but also hits some nerves. On stage with The Twin Set, it’s not his usual Rock 'n' Roll Timmy persona that he is comfortable with, fronting the band he’s played with 30+ years. He definitely seemed a little more vulnerable, and at times close to tears as he begged us to “take a chance” like he took a chance asking these amazing people to play with him.

One of his most moving songs from the first album, the album closer, The Songs They Played as I Drove Away is just a great song, and it was a fitting finale to the set. They did finish off with one more upbeat track though, returning to the stage for a rocking rendition of Don’t Cry No Tears by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, with Tim smiling as he looked over at Davey Lane tearing into the lead guitar part, channeling his inner Neil Young. And you couldn’t help but smile too. We must protect Timmy at all costs! The man is a national treasure.

Words and photos by

ALFRED GORMAN