Six months after the release of their fifth album Havens Dumb and a run of five sold-out shows at Howler, Augie March returned to Melbourne last Friday for a performance at Melbourne Recital Centre. Fraser A. Gorman was on opening duties this time round, helping brighten up the dreary night with his breezy folk tunes. From the youthful troubadour to the industry veterans, Augie March were next to take the stage, bringing with them a three-piece horn section and a guest violinist.
Tracks spanned the breadth of the band’s near 20-year history, with Havens Dumb tracks Definitive History, Hobart Obit and A Dog Starved all making early appearances, alongside old favourites Here Comes The Night and The Good Gardener (On How He Fell). Villa Adriana was abandoned after the intro due to a technical issue, in what would become the night of the cursed guitars, with Fraser A. Gorman ultimately having to borrow a guitar from “Dono” – Augie March’s Adam Donovan – for the rest of his set. “He’s got about seven of them anyway,” joked Gorman as he called out to the stage manager. The technical issues continued to wreak havoc throughout the night and did start to become tiresome after a while as the setlist continued to be chopped and changed. While Gorman, impressively, was able to grab a guitar mid-song, tune it and start playing without missing a note, Augie March frontman Glenn Richards, ever the perfectionist, wasn’t quite as adaptable and you did find yourself willing them to move on with the set.
With a largely sombre and ballad-heavy set, This Train Will Be Taking No Passengers was a welcome addition, but the pace quickly slowed back down with Bottle Baby and Owen’s Lament seeing out the main set. Luckily, Richards has the ability to transform these quieter tracks into something truly captivating. The same can’t be said for Hottest 100 topper One Crowded Hour unfortunately, which was arguably one of the lowlights of the set with Richards’ attempt to speed up the vocals through ska style verses (perhaps trying to rush through the track) falling very flat. The wavering set was saved by the haunting yet serene There Is No Such Place, which was both the best and final song of the night.
BY KELSEY BERRY
Loved: There Is No Such Place.
Hated: The lady sitting behind me who felt the need to whisper/sing pretty much the entire set directly into my ear.
Drank: Something fancy.
