If Alex Gow and Dan Kelly starred in a sitcom together you’d happily watch it every week. They both have the right mix of sincerity and playfulness to put on a memorable show, and with Kelly and Gow’s Oh Mercy each releasing acclaimed albums last year, a national tour together is certainly well deserved.
Starting the night off is Emma Russack, armed with confessional lyrics and a wry sense of humour. For most musicians breaking a guitar string would cause blind panic, but Russack uses this as an opportunity to go a cappella. “This is the song I played at my ex’s wedding shortly after we broke up”, she says before delivering a captivating version of The Wedding Singer. It’s hard not to be totally in awe of Russack after she pulls this off.
Gow takes to the stage next to perform the wonderfully emotive Lady Eucalyptus solo. Kelly arrives onstage soon after, joking that he’s been keeping warm inside a dead horse à la Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant. Kicking things off with the brilliant Baby Bonus, Kelly relays that the song is about being a “hippy girl who’s had a kid to her drug dealer boyfriend”.
Gow returns for Kelly’s belter Everything’s Amazing, nailing the harmonies despite admitting that he’s taken a lot of Codral. The two make a series of odd requests for reverb, ranging from wanting to sound more Mary MacKillop (or “Mazza MacKazza” as Gow says), to Paul Keating “after a successful day in the chamber.” The pair go on to cover The Reels’ melancholy classic Prefab Heart, with Gow’s serenading vocal stirring the heartstrings. A keyboard is introduced as the third member of the band, accompanying Gow on Oh Mercy’s Drums. He later returns to the instrument clad in white gloves and sunglasses for Dan Kelly’s Dream.
While Gow and Kelly both have the charisma and talent to pull off a solo show, joining forces makes for a show that combines bizarre humour with two impressive catalogues of music. Taking on another musician’s songs is no easy feat, but Gow and Kelly pull it off effortlessly.
Loved: The golden stage banter.
Hated: How cold it was in the venue.
Drank: Red wine which gave me an air of sophistication in the seated venue.
BY HOLLY PEREIRA
