Across several tours (as headline and support) for his second solo album The Balladeer Hunter, Drones drummer Mike Noga has proved an engaging singer-songwriter. Slightly unnerved by the sizeable crowd in front of his lonesome self, Noga was dealt an early dilemma when his harmonica rack suddenly broke. Such an awkward mishap was unconventionally resolved to much amusement. In the audience was Augie March guitarist Adam “Dono” Donovan, who leapt on stage to hold aloft Noga’s harmonica. A faultless performance of Ballad Of An Ordinary Man ended his set beautifully.
Dressed in a pale green shirt and black vest, Glenn Richards informed the packed room that he felt intimidated upon returning to his bustling hometown after moving to Hobart a few months ago and experiencing a shortage of human interaction as a result. Joined by close friend and the ridiculously dexterous Dan Luscombe, the duo opened superbly with a few Glimjack standouts – Apple Of My Eye, Painter By Numbers and Glimjack Muttering – before moving into Augie March tracks, The Cold Acre (Richards hilariously admitted to watching his own video clips on YouTube while drinking alone) and Brundisium.
The middle of their set, however, was plagued by technical problems. Richards had tremendous trouble tuning his guitar and ended up discarding his guitar battery; fortunately, the sound tech managed to find a nine-volt battery and a new cable. Luscombe apologised profusely during the exceptionally awkward delay, but when Richards asserted that it wasn’t Luscombe’s fault, Luscombe’s witty response was a classic: “You’re worse – you apologise for your existence every second song!”
It’s a credit to their integrity as artists, though, that such technical problems were almost entirely forgotten about when they closed with five diverse, brilliant Augie March songs: There Is No Such Place, Here Comes The Night, Pennywhistle, Sunstroke House and This Train Will Be Taking No Passengers (in which they were joined by Noga). Indeed, if there’s anyone capable of reversing misfortune, it would be Mr. Richards.
Loved: The final half-hour of magic
Hated: The awkward impromptu performance of Greatest Love Of All.
Drank: Bling India
