The element of mystery surrounding C.W. Stoneking makes it seem like he’s jumped straight out of your imagination and onto the stage in his all-white suit, spotty bowtie and slicked back hair. His music has managed to find its place in the contemporary world despite every song sounding as if it was recorded before televisions were in every house. The songs are mysteries in themselves that hark back to the bygone era when explorers and adventurers would return from uncharted territories with fantastical stories.
Stoneking has a few fantastical stories of his own that probably started with an element of truth to them but, like all good stories, may have grown more extravagant over the years. Those stories would come during the evening but Stoneking was quick to jump into On A Desert Isle after he surreptitiously sidled himself to his mic. His bassist Andrew Scott had the sagging cheeks of a bulldog which shook as he plucked and thumped his double bass underneath Stoneking’s Australian/American drawl and tremolo guitar. Paul Kelly’s daughters Maddy and Memphis provided the backing vocals that sound like a group of overexcited children on the latest release, Gon’ Boogaloo.
Before most of the songs, the packed audience were treated to a tale of whimsy that was generally the impetus for Stoneking penning the following tune. Occasionally his slack tongued drawl made his words indecipherable but the Hokum master of seductive suggestion is able to say more with an eyebrow than speech. There was a lot of space between the lines when he introduced Handyman Blues as the account of his days working as a handyman, making sure all the women were well taken care of. Trivial knowledge was shared too with Stoneking enlightening the crowd on the existence of a tribe in Kenya that worships the early 20th century country yodeller Jimmie Rodgers as their god of fertility. Before one of his newer songs I’m The Jungle Man, Stoneking couldn’t help poking a bit of fun at himself, commenting, “I keep trying to escape the novelty tag but it seems to follow me everywhere I go, probably because I keep writing songs like this one.”
The Forum felt like a ‘20s dancehall as Stoneking rolled through Good Luck Charm, Get On The Floor, The Zombie and Gon’ Boogaloo all off his latest record. Couples grabbed each other’s hands and made their best attempts at swing dancing while the band leader shuffled around on stage wobbling his head to the beat of the drum. After closing on the soulful gospel number Shelter For Me, it wasn’t long before the band were back out for their encore of the ragtime tune Dodo Blues. As he left the stage for good and the lights went up, the real world came back into view and, like a plummeting police box we all crash landed back in the 21st century.
BY RHYS MCRAE
Photo by Ian Laidlaw
Loved: Seeing Paul Kelly waiting in line like everyone else.
Hated: Slipping in a big ol’ puddle of paint.
Drank: Paint.
